GOP eyes immigration

Further immigration reform will be on the House Republican leadership's agenda next legislative session, House Speaker Lance Cargill said Wednesday.

But what form that legislation will take still needs to be worked out as implementation of House Bill 1804 continues, he said.

"Clearly it will be an issue we will address,” said Cargill, R-Harrah.

As lawmakers began crafting HB 1804 — which was on the Republican agenda last session — it was drafted in a way to give state leaders ample opportunity to study what is being done in other states and tweak the law as needed. The employer penalty provisions of the bill don't go into effect until July, giving lawmakers another full legislative session to make changes to the bill, Cargill said.

The rhetoric from the far right and the far left is not helping the situation, Cargill said. The political will does not exist either within the Legislature or the public to gut HB 1804 as some are suggesting, or radically ramp up the legislation.

"Both sides need to moderate the rhetoric,” he said. "There are people of good faith on both sides of the issue.”

Cargill also criticized Nancy Galvan, a member of the Governor's Advisory Council on Latin American and Hispanic Affairs, who equated the immigration law earlier this week to "the pursuit of Jews in Germany during the Hitler era.”

This kind of rhetoric is "wholly irresponsible and inappropriate,” Cargill said, and called on Gov. Brad Henry to ask Galvan to retract her statement or remove her from the council.