The controversy surrounding House Bill 4156 has not stopped the bill from passing in the Oklahoma House and Senate and heading to Governor Kevin Stitt’s office for signature.
The new law “creates a criminal act of impermissible occupation.” The bill was introduced on April 15, 2024, and was originally authored by House Speaker Charles McCaul and Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat.
The Senate bill states that unauthorized occupation occurs when a person is an alien and “knowingly and without authorization” enters and remains in Oklahoma without first obtaining legal authorization to enter the United States. ing.
The bill would make certain actions illegal, impose penalties, and allow the collection of data about individuals and the sharing of that data for cross-reference purposes. The Senate version states that identifying information may be shared with “certain databases and federal lists or classifications.”
Further provisions of the bill would make individuals convicted of certain crimes ineligible for probation, deferred adjudication, or community service.
State Sen. Dwayne Pemberton (R-9th District) said he has heard from multiple constituents about illegal marijuana cultivation facilities run by Mexican cartels and Chinese nationals.
“I followed up on at least two of these incidents in the Muskogee area with the Oklahoma Department of Medical Marijuana and the Bureau of Narcotics,” Pemberton said. “One of them was raided and shut down. The others are under investigation.”
Pemberton said more than a dozen undocumented Mexicans were rounded up and discovered as victims of human trafficking in the process.
“This is just one example of hundreds of cases closed by these agencies over the past several years, and there is little doubt that fentanyl and sex trafficking are also occurring,” Penn said. Barton said. “I voted for that bill.”
District Attorney Jack Thorpe said he has knowledge of the use of illegal immigrants in the marijuana grow operation, but could not go into details because the investigation is ongoing.
“While some lawsuits have been filed, many are ongoing and we cannot compromise the investigation,” Thorp said.
Cherokee County Democratic Party Chair Yolett Ross said he believes the bill’s intent is to target undocumented immigrants, but the unintended consequence is that they are unable to live productive lives here and are less likely to live in the community. He said people working in the area would be “rounded up.”
“It also leads to deportation and family separation,” Ross said. “Our immigration policies need to be overhauled, but not at the state level.”
Ross said he would like to know how many of these individuals are involved in illegal marijuana cultivation and organized criminal activity in the state.
In a TDP Facebook forum question on Saturday, April 20th, respondents discussed this issue: “House Bill 4156 would criminalize ‘unauthorized occupation’ for anyone remaining in Oklahoma without legal authorization.” This Do you think this is a crisis in Oklahoma? What would you say to employers who hire these people to do jobs that Americans generally don’t want? Should they be punished too? ”
Former Tahlequah Mayor Sue Catron said she worked at a business that relied on immigrant workers.
“We realized that Social Security and Medicare taxes are withheld and paid to all employees, regardless of immigration status. You’ll never have the opportunity to do that,” Catron said. “Illegal immigration financially strengthens ‘entitlement’ programs.”
Jack Webb, a former Tahlequah resident who now lives in Washington state, said there is an agricultural labor shortage of 2.4 million unfilled jobs in California, Washington, Texas, Oregon, Alabama, Georgia and Florida. He said there is.
“Certainly… politicians could come up with a guest worker program,” Webb said. “These are necessary jobs, but Americans don’t want to do them. Apples, oranges, lettuce, tomatoes, watermelons, hops, peaches, pears, and strawberries all have to be picked by hand.”
Kristin Carrelow grew up in Santa Clara County, California, where annual immigration was the norm when orchards needed harvesting.
“There were programs in place and many people became citizens. Even more people just wanted to support their families in Mexico,” Carrelou said. “Violence and drugs are so prevalent in South America that many people are fleeing to give their families a better life or just to survive.”
Carrelow said her brother was a Border Patrol agent for 31 years, during which time he served as a ground officer and surveillance pilot, and was even sworn in to the Supreme Court as a lawyer who could decide whether a state law was illegal or challenged a federal law. It is said that there was. Law.
“Speaking of taking our jobs, when was the last time you thought, ‘Nobody’s going to take my job,’ because picking lettuce and strawberries in the sun is literally back-breaking work.” I wonder if it was possible?” Mr Callelow said. “Maybe the Oklahoma state government should read The Grapes of Wrath, or has that book been banned too?”
Mary Jane Collins said there are programs for non-residents to work in the United States with permission.
“This is a process for ‘farmers’ and those who choose to work for them,” Collins said.
what you said
A poll on TDP’s website asked readers to vote on whether illegal immigration is such a crisis that Oklahoma needs to take drastic action. The answer that received the most votes was “Yes, I absolutely agree,” with 54.9% of his votes. The “probably” vote was 3.9%. 13.7% of respondents answered “probably not.” 27.5% voted “definitely not.”
