The effects of Oklahoma’s policy toward illegal immigration were examined by journalists from across the nation Monday at OU.
“Immigration in the Heartland,” a conference hosting 15 journalists who cover events in immigrant communities, discussed the effects of Oklahoma’s laws on undocumented immigrants, the Obama Administration and Congress’ acts toward creating a reformed immigration policy and conservatives’ view of the immigration debate.
The first debate focused on the effects of Oklahoma House Bill 1804, which is cited as one of the strictest pieces of immigration legislation in the U.S. since it was signed into law in 2007.
“This bill was designed to restore the rule of law and protect U.S. workers that have had their jobs taken from them by immigrant workers who work for less money and who don’t pay any taxes,” said Carol Helm, president of Immigration Reform for Oklahoma Now. “These people pay little to no taxes on their incomes, and this is lost revenue for the state and the U.S.”
House Bill 1804 requires all employees to verify their employees are citizens or registered in the state of Oklahoma to work. It also requires anyone requesting to participate in state programs to show proof of residency and directs state law enforcement officers to verify the status when making an arrest.
However, other speakers were not in favor of the bill and wished Oklahoma would have considered other options. Discussion focused on the negative effects the bill has on health care for undocumented immigrants and taxpayers.
“Because of this bill, we have people with cancer who need dialysis but don’t go to get treatment until they feel extremely sick,” said Richard Klinge, Catholic Charities of Oklahoma associate director for outreach, advocacy and legal services. “And when they finally go to get treatment, they go to the emergency room, and no doctor is going to turn away someone because of their status, so the taxpayers are being stuck with the bill. And as we all know, emergency room care is far more expensive then regular care.”
Oklahoma County has 21 free clinics that knowingly treat immigrant communities regardless of documentation, Klinge said.
Klinge said Oklahoma is making grave mistakes when it comes to how the state treats its immigrants.
“If we profess to be a Christian nation, we should love our neighbor,” Klinge said.
Klinge said he hopes Oklahoma voters have a change of heart before the November election in which voters will vote on a ballot question deciding if English should be the official language of the state of Oklahoma.
State Rep. Shane Jett, a participant in the discussion and the only republican to vote “no” on 1804, cites personal reasons for disagreeing with the bill.
“My wife is from Brazil, and I had to go through the entire immigration process with her,” Jett said.
Jett said he believed politicians were doing what polled as popular policy in their districts as opposed to finding answers to the solution.
“We should set up a system where these people pay a fine and are put on the track to citizenship,” Jett said. “We are treating this like a border problem, and the last time I checked, Oklahoma doesn’t have any international borders. I don’t think we consider Texas a foreign country.”
Jett said by trying to get rid of people the state sees as illegal, it is not taking care of the solution at hand.
“The way that people treat other people reflects back on us,” Jett said. “The way this state treats people and the way the U.S. treats people all reflects back on us.”
In the afternoon, Jason Riley, a columnist for The Wall Street Journal, presented his arguments in support of opening the borders. His book, “Let Them In: The Case for Opening Borders,” argues that the free market, not the government, should determine the level of immigration in the U.S.
Riley advocates viable guestworker programs that would help reduce the number of illegal immigrants.
“Get more ways for people to come legally and fewer will come illegally,” Riley said.
“Immigration in the Heartland” continues today with field reporting in Oklahoma City for the 15 journalists participating in the conference.
—Reneé Selanders and Leighanne Manwarren contributed to portions of this article.
The Oklahoma Daily is pleased to provide you the opportunity to share your thoughts about this article. We encourage lively debate on the issues of the day, but we ask you refrain from using profanity or other offensive speech, engaging in personal attacks or name-calling, posting advertising, or straying from the topic at hand. To comment, you must be a registered user of OUDaily.com. Thanks for taking the time to offer your thoughts.
You must be logged in to leave a comment. Log in | Register
dio 2 years, 1 month ago
Illegal immigrants are to be apprehended and processed by the immigration services. Hiding illegal immigrants is a felony. Emergency medical treatments can be provided before their deportation.
@chas036
"last year the US Supreme Court even ruled that..."
Source?
chas036 2 years, 1 month ago
If we are going to give illegal immigrants special privileges such as free health care, free education, unlimited welfare, and immunity from prosecuation for identity theft, then lets pass a law that gives these privileges to all Oklahoma citizens and not just illegals.
For example, if I, a US citizen, have cancer and I go to an emergency room for care without health insurance, sure they will treat me, but then I will get billed for everything and be forced into bankrupcy and probably loose my house and everything else if I can not pay for it, whereas an illegal immigrant they will get all the medical care they need for free. Is that fair????
For example, if I use a fake ID to get into a bar, or a stolen ID to get a driver's license, I will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and probably be doing some jail time. Whereas if an illegal immigrant gets caught using a stolen and forged identity to get work, to get a driver's license, or to fraud city and state agencies out of social services, the most they will get if caught, is a slap on the wrist and nothing more.
Matter of fact, last year the US Supreme Court even ruled that if you are an illegal immigrant, then identity theft and forgery are perfectly acceptable practices for you, and you "CAN NOT" be prosecuted or charged with identity theft for stealing an identity of an US citizen. Is that fair????
Why should illegals have more rights and previledges in this country than US citizens.
jssooner4 2 years, 1 month ago
Here is an idea. Let's give these people temporary citizenship and collect their taxes. Does it really matter to any citizens whether immigrants gain citizenship status? Not like our system is keeping out anyone dangerous as is. Might as well collect taxes to pay for this ridiculous war and terror and war on drugs.