The Biden administration is threatening to sue another Republican-led state over its efforts to crack down on illegal immigration, after suing two other states over their respective anti-illegal immigration bills.
The Department of Justice has written to Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt and Attorney General Gentner Drummond about HB 4156, legislation that makes it a state crime to be in the state illegally and gives local authorities the ability to arrest illegal immigrants and require them must leave the state within 72 hours of conviction or release from custody.
The law was signed by Stitt this month and will go into effect July 1. It is similar to laws passed and enacted in Iowa and Texas, and both laws have subsequently been hit by lawsuits from the Department of Justice, which argues that it infringes on federal authority over immigration laws and their enforcement. The Texas law is currently on hold amid the ongoing lawsuit there.
ANOTHER RED STATE GETS ONE STEP CLOSER TO ENACTING A TEXAS-STYLE ANTI-ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION LAW
Migrants who crossed the Rio Grande and entered the U.S. from Mexico are lining up to be processed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
“Federal law takes precedence over HB 4156 and violates the United States Constitution,” Senior Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton said in the letter to Oklahoma officials. “In fact, Oklahoma's law is similar to Texas Senate Bill 4, which has been preliminarily banned.”
He maintained that Congress has implemented a “comprehensive scheme governing the entry and reentry of noncitizens into the United States, including penalties for illegal entry and reentry.”
“HB 4156, however, seeks to create a separate state immigration plan by imposing state criminal penalties for violating federal prohibitions on illegal entry and reentry. Therefore, HB 4156 intrudes on a field that is occupied by the government federal and is replaced,” he said. saying.
“The United States intends to sue to enjoin enforcement of HB 4156 unless Oklahoma agrees to refrain from enforcing the law. The United States is committed to prosecuting noncitizens in accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act ( INA). HB 4156 is contrary to that objective,” he stated.
Texas passed its own law criminalizing illegal immigration last year, and other states, including Iowa and Oklahoma, have since followed this year. A measure in Arizona was vetoed by the governor and there are now efforts to get the measure on the ballot in November.
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Oklahoma responded to the Justice Department's threat days later, with Attorney General Drummond vowing to “vigorously defend” the law if the administration files a lawsuit, while blaming the Biden administration for the crisis at the southern border.
“Their misguided demands ignore that Oklahoma has not only the sovereign right, but also the solemn legal obligation, to protect its own borders and its own citizens,” Drummond said.
Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks during the 36th Annual Candlelight Vigil to honor law enforcement officers who lost their lives in 2023, in Washington, May 13, 2024. (AP Photo/José Luis Magaña)
“Acquiescence in the face of this intolerable situation is not in the DNA of my state; nor is surrender,” he said. “As such, HB 4156 represents a significant, common-sense, and legally permissible step to address and correct what the Biden Administration has willfully refused to enforce for the past three and a half years.”
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Meanwhile, other states may soon have their own versions of the law. In addition to the Arizona ballot measure, Louisiana lawmakers are moving forward with legislation similar to the Texas, Iowa and Oklahoma bills.
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There, the state attorney general also pledged to protect the state if any lawsuit were filed.
“We are following the bill as it moves through the Legislature,” Lester Duhe, press secretary for Attorney General Liz Murrill, told Fox News Digital. “The Attorney General is committed to protecting the people of Louisiana from the dangers of illegal immigration, caused by Joe Biden's open border policies.”
