Monday, May 07, 2007

Democrat Breaks Down HB 1804

Oklahoma Democrat Bill Clifford provided us with this great break-down of the immigration bill -- HB 1804 -- currently on the Governor's desk for approval or veto......

House Bill 1804
: 1804 is an effort by some of our State Legislators to insert Oklahoma into the Federal issue of Immigration. It seems aimed at people of Hispanic or Latino heritage. The problem with H.B. 1804 (the so-called "Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2007") is the number of problem areas it creates.


Money:A House Fiscal Impact Analysis of HB 1804 (attached) declares start-up costs to be minimal. Long term considerations: "None". However, a review of a bill similar to HB 1804 by eighteen departments of Colorado's Joint Budget Committee identified over $2 million in increased state costs associated with that legislative proposal, without any savings to the state. In addition, costs to implement provisions of this bill by the Department of Public Safety and Oklahoma's local governments are not included in the analysis done on HB1804 by the Oklahoma House Staff.

Respect for the Law : Advocates for HB 1804 note that most of this bill is existing federal law. That's true. However, if the Memorandum of Understanding required in Section 10 is drawn under the Oklahoma Interlocal Cooperation Act (Title 74, O.S., 1001-1008), the bill's structure turns Oklahoma Law Enforcement Agencies at every level throughout the State into extensions of various federal agencies. Under Oklahoma's Interlocal Cooperation Act, different levels of government share powers. Once HB 1804 is linked to provisions of the Interlocal Cooperation Act by Memorandum of Understanding (as required in Section 10 of HB 1804), the federal immigration tasks delineated in HB 1804 become our responsibilities, with no reimbursement provisions in the bill. Also, legal mandates (unfunded, or otherwise) established by H.B. 1804 will continue to have the force of state law, even after new immigration legislation is enacted at the National level. And, by the way, making our police and sheriffs' departments federal enforcement agents can significantly reduce effective "community policing" efforts designed to foster cooperation among neighborhood residents and local law enforcement authorities in areas like anti-gang and drug enforcement activities.

Human Service Organizations
: HB 1804 requires that agencies of the State of Oklahoma, its political subdivisions, their contractors, and their subcontractors use a "status verification system" to confirm citizenship status of persons reasonably suspected of being in this country illegally. Many of Oklahoma's charitable and non-profit human service organizations literally don't know how this affects their service-client relationships - - or how they might be able to pay the federal costs associated with obtaining the required information.

Legal Challenges: Finally, many aspects of HB 1804 appear to be unconstitutional. It attempts to force state authority into areas that the Courts have already determined to be an exclusive federal power - - the power to regulate immigration.[De Canas v Bica, 424 U.S.351 (1976)]. If passed into law, HB 1804 could involve the State of Oklahoma in an expensive court fight, as it tries to defend this legislation on its Constitutional merits. This, at a time when both the Congress and the White House are exploring a federal solution to illegal immigration through the already introduced, bipartisan STRIVE Act (HR 1645), which is currently being negotiated. Setting state-related enforcement costs aside for just a moment, passage of HR 1645 would make Oklahoma's efforts to defend the legitimacy of HB 1804 not only expensive, but also unnecessary.

"1984": Also attached is a press release, issued by a National influence group, commenting on the passage of H.B. 1804. Portrayal of this legislation by this group as a major victory for "civil rights" reminds me of the terms "newspeak" and "doublespeak" adapted from the Orwell novel "1984". In fact, if it's made law, H.B. 1804 does turn Oklahoma's private and public employers into a kind of "secret police" network, required to report to Authorities those persons "reasonably suspected" (?) as being in this country illegally - - all in the name of citizen protection.

Official Data: The U.S. Bureau of the Census shows Hispanic and Latino people to be an established and rapidly growing part of localities throughout the State of Oklahoma. These people have become part of our respective communities. We, as a People, need to reach out to them and help them fully participate in the democracy that our State and Nation promise.

That's the American Way...

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

WHAT A PILE OF HORSE&$%

while I agree that the health services provision should NOT be there, I see nothing wrong with the state acting when the Federal government refuses to do so.

No provision of this bill is enforced until Nov 2007. Plenty of time for legal immigrants to get the proper state issued documentation.

The bigotry and prejudice card being constantly played by those who no NOTHING about the underlying issues associated with having up to 20 million people illegally in your country is foolish.

All it does is damage the Dem party which is on the right side on so many issues!

Drop the diatribe and at least be willing to enter into a reasonable dialogue about this bill and illegal immigration in general. You cannot win your point by MAKING UP what you want the reasons for opposition to illegal immigration TO BE!

wake up, amnesty is unpalatable to most of the country because of the very real, dangerous and disasterous long term consequences that it will bring!

LNAB

Unknown said...

http://newsok.com/article/3051064

Tue May 8, 2007

Henry signs immigration bill
By Michael McNutt
Capitol Bureau
Gov. Brad Henry signed House Bill 1804 today, putting into law one of
the country's toughest and most sweeping immigration reform bills.

The bill will set criminal penalties for knowingly and willingly
harboring illegal immigrants. No public benefits will be allowed to
people who are in the state illegally, except in cases of medical
emergencies or emergency aid. Businesses will need to run all workers
through a federal verification system or risk penalties and legal
action.

The legislation also cuts off in-state tuition for illegal immigrant
students unless they can verify they have applied for citizenship or
plan to within one year.

Anonymous said...

Glad to see that the Guv finally let a good piece of legislation pass into law.

I guess the public pressure and the fact that he could not get the votes to sustain a veto forced him to sign it.

Anonymous said...

NOW I WANT TO SEE HOW IS HE GOING TO GET THE MONEY FOR ALL THIS OR IS HE GOING TO TAKE IT FROM IMIGRANTS THAT PAY TAXES BUT DON'T CLAIM THE MONEY BACK.

I think that's hypocritical that their building a wall and making laws against them and at the same time using money the gov don't have that their geting from those peolple their tring to keep out.

Anonymous said...

NOW I WANT TO SEE HOW IS HE GOING TO GET THE MONEY FOR ALL THIS OR IS HE GOING TO TAKE IT FROM IMIGRANTS THAT PAY TAXES BUT DON'T CLAIM THE MONEY BACK.

I think that's hypocritical that their building a wall and making laws against them and at the same time using money the gov don't have that their geting from those peolple their tring to keep out.

sylent said...

I understand the concept of this bill, but in reality, I don't see it helping much. I know first hand from being married to a police officer and having many officer friends, that they will avoid hispanics due to the headache involved in processing them at the jail or trying to find our who they are, and most of the time they already avoid them because of this. This also will cause more violence toward police in the apprehension of illegals, due to them being so afraid of deportation or other repercutions. I know of an example of this, where a hispanic man shot at a police officer because he was afraid of deportation, even though at that time their was really no real threat of that happeining. Also, it may be a criminal offense to harbor an illegal alien, but think for a second who is harboring them...thier families. Do you really think thier own families are going to shun them away due to the fear of criminal punishment. The only thing this will cause is people to abuse illegals with blackmail that they will report them...example employers who pay under the table, abusive husbands...etc. There are already numerous hispanic women and children who are beaten by their husbands/fathers and are afraid to get help because of fear of deportation, and so they and their children live in fear and violence on a daily basis. A lot of these people don't speak english, how can they possibly understand the law or whether law enforcement will protect them if they need help. There are so many more issues involved in this than just Oklahomans tax dollars.

Anonymous said...

I firmly believe that Gov Henry only signed the bill to please a few people while fully knowing it would never get past the courts. It DOES put us (who do hiring) in a position of being part of a New Secret Police and to turn in born and raised Okies for an in depth scruteny without complete/proper IDs! I have applicants daily that fit this bill consistantly. Those people from out of country that cannot get proper IDs (or Pay for them really) are stating plainly they will move to an easier state. Which I am sure will overjoy a few ignorant readers that are far too short sighted to truly appreciate the "1984" comment...
I anxiously await it being overturned due to it being poorly written in the first place; rushed to give the appearance that something was being done in response to the public outcry of the individual that was involved in the car wreck on the south side of OKC (and later released on bail, etc); and obviously the lawyers we elect know how to write a bill that would work...
They really didn't want it to go through just call attention to themselves...
Which makes me think has anyone read the latin communities response to their voting pro on it?
Perhaps you should...
;-)