Oklahoma House Bill 1804 Unites Unusual Allies Aimed at Defeating Employment Stipluations
There's definitely a wind of controversy sweeping down the plains of Oklahoma.
House Bill 1804 has joined business groups, labor unions, immigration advocates, and civil rights groups in an effort to defeat parts of the illegal-immigration bill. The groups have submitted arguments to the federal appeals court in Denver against the employment-related parts of the bill. To the contrary, Oklahoma officials have asked the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals to restore the provisions that U.S. District Judge Robin Cauthron ruled were pre-empted by federal law.
House Bill 1804 has created a stir in Oklahoma because portions of the bill would require that employers doing business with the state use a voluntary federal worker verification system. The proposed law would impose penalties on employers who fail to use the "E-Verify" program.
Business groups also successfully challenged a section of HB 1804 that would have allowed "authorized" workers to sue employers for retaining a worker that the employer "should have known" was "unauthorized."
Overall, the issue that unites the various groups is the opinion that states should not set immigration policy and that it should be left to the federal government to draft and implement immigration law.
Robin Conrad, executive director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, stated that the patchwork of conflicting state immigration laws is creating a national crisis. In addition, labor unions oppose the employment portions of the bill because of the unequal and unfair treatment immigrant workers will face if the employment portions of HB 1804 are implemented.
Civil rights groups believe that HB 1804 would interfere with federal laws designed to prevent discrimination. Oklahoma officials countered the various arguments offered by the diverse groups by saying that HB 1804 "was specifically crafted so as to not interfere with federal law." Other provisions of HB 1804 were not challenged and took effect one year ago. Specific provisions ban illegal immigrants from getting driver's licenses or state identification and publicly funded social services.
As in many other states, Oklahoma faces a dilemma concerning how to handle illegal immigration in the shadows of failed federal policy. Until a cohesive and consistent framework is implemented in immigration policy in the U.S., the winds of controversy will not only blow across the plains of Oklahoma, but also the entire nation.