Republican-ruled states rush to give local police more powers to regulate immigration and impose criminal sanctions to people living in the United States without authorization, while the issue of migrants crossing the country’s southern border remains a central issue for this year’s elections.
The Oklahoma Legislature quickly passed a bill this week creating the new crime of “unacceptable occupation” and passed it on to the governor to promulgate it. The new crime carries penalties of up to two years in prison for being in the state irregularly.
Oklahoma is one of several Republican-governed states that are maneuvering to tighten immigration control while Republicans and Democrats try to take political advantage of the issue. That became clear in February, when President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump visited the US border with Mexico on the same day and They struggled from a distance over who bears the blame why the country’s system for controlling immigration is in such bad shape and how to correct it.
These are some things to know about the latest initiatives in various states to address the issue of immigration:
What’s happening in Texas?
Oklahoma lawmakers followed the lead of Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill last year that would will allow the state to arrest and deport people who enter the United States without authorization. That law is currently on pause while the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit weighs a challenge presented by the Department of Justice federal.
Opponents say that the law is the most drastic attempt by a state for control immigration from an Arizona law created more than a decade ago, of which the federal Supreme Court annulled some parts.
What implications does the new anti-immigrant law have in Oklahoma?
Oklahoma law would make it illegal to remain in the state without legal permission, and a first offense would be considered a misdemeanor and could be punished with up to a year in prison. Offenders would be required to leave the state within 72 hours of their release. A second and subsequent offense would be a felony punishable by up to two years in prison.
State Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat, who introduced the proposal in the upper chamber, expressed frustration with the federal government and Congress for not take more definitive measures for solve the immigration problem.
“The federal government has failed. The federal Congress… They haven’t done anything to have an impact on it.”said the Republican Treat. “So what can we do? We can say you have to be legally in Oklahoma.”
Outside the state Capitol, more than 100 people gathered Tuesday to oppose the bill.
Sam Wargin Grimaldo, 36, a south Oklahoma City attorney whose mother emigrated from Mexico in 1979, asked protesters to register to vote and become more involved in politics.
Grimaldo said that many Latinos in Oklahoma are afraid of the new law.
“We feel attacked”commented Grimaldo, who was wearing a t-shirt that said: “Young, Latin and proud.”
“People are afraid to leave their houses if a bill like this is proposed and then approved,” he added.
What are other states with Republican governments doing?
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed a law requiring law enforcement agencies communicate with federal immigration authorities If they find people who are in the country without permission, and forces them to cooperate in the process of identifying, detaining and deporting them. That bill goes into effect July 1. Another proposal in the state would increase prison sentences up to life in prison for those who are in the United States irregularly and commit a violent crime.
In Iowa, Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill into law this month that has similar parts to the Texas law. Another approach to developing a bill similar to the Texas law is advancing in Louisiana. And Idaho legislators were considering a similar initiative, but adjourned without approving it.
Georgia lawmakers passed a bill that seeks to force jailers to verify the immigration status of inmatespart of a political response to the murder of a nursing student on the University of Georgia campus, allegedly committed by a Venezuelan.
Last month, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law aimed at increase prison sentences for the migrants who are in the United States without authorization if they are convicted of serious crimes or driving without a license.
What’s next with anti-immigrant laws in the US?
To the just like the new Texas lawit is almost certain that many of bills face court challenges because immigration is a federal, not state, issue in the U.S. Constitution, said Kelli Stump, an Oklahoma City immigration attorney and president-elect of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
“All this is a mess and the system does not work, but the Constitution states that the states must deal with state affairs and the feds handle federal affairs,” Stump said. “In the long run, this will end up before the Supreme Court, if I have to bet anything.”
