Biden Administration Threatens Lawsuit Over Oklahoma’s Anti-illegal Immigration Law!
The Biden administration is threatening to sue yet another Republican-led state over its efforts to combat illegal immigration, following suit against two other states over their various anti-illegal immigration measures.
The Department of Justice has written to Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and Attorney General Gentner Drummond about HB 4156, which makes it a state crime to be in the state illegally and gives local law enforcement the authority to arrest and deport illegal immigrants within 72 hours of being convicted or released from custody.
Stitt signed the law this month, and it is set to take effect on July 1. It is similar to statutes approved and signed into law in Iowa and Texas, both of which have since been sued by the Department of Justice, which claims that they violate federal authority over immigration law enforcement.
The Texas law is presently on hold due to the pending lawsuit. “HB 4156 is preempted by federal law and violates the United States Constitution,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton said in a letter to Oklahoma officials. “Indeed, the Oklahoma law is similar to Texas’s Senate Bill 4, which has been preliminarily enjoined.”
He claimed that Congress has established a “comprehensive scheme governing noncitizens’ entry and reentry into the United States, including penalties for unlawful entry and reentry.”
“HB 4156, on the other hand, proposes to establish a separate state immigration system by establishing state criminal penalties for breaking federal restrictions on illegal arrival and readmission. “HB 4156 thus intrudes into a field occupied by the federal government and is preempted,” he declared.
“The United States intends to launch a lawsuit to halt the implementation of HB 4156 unless Oklahoma agrees to stop enforcing the statute. The United States is dedicated to processing noncitizens following the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). HB 4156 contradicts that purpose,” he stated.
Texas approved legislation declaring illegal immigration a criminal last year, and other states, like Iowa and Oklahoma, have followed suit this year. A bill in Arizona was vetoed by the governor, and attempts are underway to get it on the November ballot. Oklahoma reacted to the DOJ threat days later, with Attorney General Drummond promising to “vigorously defend” the statute if the administration sues while blaming the Biden administration for the southern border issue.
“Your misguided demands ignore that Oklahoma has not only the sovereign right but also the solemn legal obligation, to protect its borders and its citizens,” Drummond stated. “Acquiescence to this intolerable situation is not in my state’s DNA; neither is surrender,” he stated. “As such, HB 4156 represents a meaningful, common-sense, and legally permissible step toward addressing and correcting that which the Biden Administration has willfully refused to enforce the last 3.5 years.”
Meanwhile, other states may soon implement their versions of the bill. In addition to the Arizona ballot issue, Louisiana lawmakers are considering legislation similar to those introduced in Texas, Iowa, and Oklahoma.
There, the state’s attorney general has likewise promised to defend the state if a case arises.
“We’re following the bill as it moves through the Legislature,” Lester Duhe, Attorney General Liz Murrill’s press secretary, 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.”