With several thousand immigrants crossing illegally into Oklahoma every day at a cost to the state taxpayers of $200 million annually for public benefits and other resources, the state legislature has sent the governor legislation designed to make Oklahoma a less attractive destination for illegals:
The Oklahoma bill builds on measures passed by other states but has a stronger focus on deterring unauthorized employment, he said.
"It lays the foundations for state and local action in a very broad scope of public activities," Hethmon said.
The legislation addresses the root cause of illegal immigration - exploitation of illegal immigrant labor, he said. Among other things, the bill contains employment, labor law and civil rights provisions to protect citizens and legal immigrants who lose their jobs at companies that employ illegal immigrants to perform the same or similar work.
"Stealing American jobs is now a civil rights violation in Oklahoma," Hethmon said.
The measure targets employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens in order to gain a competitive advantage. Key elements of the bill focus on determining worker eligibility, including technology called the Basic Pilot program, which screens Social Security numbers to make sure they are real and that they match up with the person's name.
Created by the federal government to verify the eligibility of government employees, use of the program is mandated in Georgia, said the author of the Oklahoma legislation, Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore. It is free to employers who voluntarily sign up, he said.
Public agencies will be required to use the program beginning Nov. 1 and private companies by July 1, 2008.
Mike Seney, senior vice president of operations for The State Chamber, a business and industry group in Oklahoma City, said the group initially opposed the bill but took a neutral position after changes were approved in the Senate.
The changes widened so-called "safe harbor" provisions that allow employers to avoid sanctions for hiring undocumented immigrants if they use the Basic Pilot program and other methods to verify worker eligibility, Seney said.
"All of that goes out the window if you are participating in one of these safe harbor areas," he said.
Terrill said the measure would limit state driver's licenses and identity cards to citizens and legal immigrants and would require state and local agencies to verify the citizenship and immigration status of applicants for state or local benefits.
"The land of opportunity is becoming the land of entitlement," Rep. Rex Duncan, R-Sand Springs, said while debating for the bill.
The measure would not affect emergency medical and humanitarian services, such as visits to hospital emergency rooms and enrollment in public schools, that are required by federal law.
For our proposal for addressing the problem of illegal immigration see here.
RLC