Immigration law facing a new test
Immigration law facing a new test
By Devona Walker
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Published: February 2, 2008
Several business groups filed a lawsuit on Friday against Oklahoma's stringent immigration enforcement law.
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Defending the law
The Oklahoma attorney general's office will defend the constitutionality of the law, a spokesman said Friday.
The law's author, state Rep. Randy Terrill, derided attempts to strike it down.
"It's a repetitive attempt by the pro-illegal immigrant lobby and their allies to defeat House Bill 1804,” Terrill said. "The moral dilemma for big business is that they're basically supporting modern day slavery.”
In the past, state attorneys have argued that the Oklahoma immigration statute does not create new law but simply reiterates existing law and gives law enforcement agencies a means to enforce it.
‘Not the answer'
HB 1804, which has been called the toughest immigration statute in the nation, requires employers doing business within the state to verify the eligibility status of all new workers.
By the summer, it will require businesses to verify the work authorization status of any individual independent contractors, and it also contains a provision allowing terminated employees to bring discrimination suits against their employers if they can show that an undocumented worker replaced them.
Last July, a similar lawsuit in Hazelton, Pa., forced that community to retract its immigration statute.
"What is happening across the country in states like Oklahoma and Arizona shows that piecemeal immigration laws are not the answer, and that Congress needs to enact comprehensive federal immigration reform,” Conrad added.
The lawsuit filed late Friday afternoon requested that an injunction be entered in the case, temporarily suspending enforcement of parts of the law.
One of the lawsuit's arguments is that the basic pilot program, through which employers are required to verify eligibility, does not really confirm a workers' eligibility. Instead, it simply notifies the employer and the federal government that the worker's name and Social Security numbers do not match.
Critics of this proposal, which is known on the national front as the "no match strategy,” have argued there are reasons other than someone's immigration status that might trigger a nonmatching Social Security number.
"Each of the plaintiffs have members' businesses. ... These provisions could lead to debarment from state contracts, obligatory withholding of taxes from contractors or tax penalties and liability for having unknowingly employed an unauthorized worker,” the lawsuit reads.
Protecting jobs
The State Chamber has been contemplating filing suit since shortly after the law went into effect Nov.1, said Mike Seney, chamber spokesman.
"Our board was informed that we were looking at this, and we have the support of our board,” Seney said. "I think it was just getting all of our ducks in a row and making sure where we were.
"You get a lawsuit with this many parties involved, everybody's gotta make sure they are properly communicated with before moving forward. It takes a while,” Seney said of the gap in time between the law taking effect and the chamber taking action.
"The State Chamber's mission is to protect the jobs of Oklahoma citizens,” said Richard P. Rush, president and CEO of The State Chamber. "To accomplish our mission we must protect Oklahoma's business community from state laws and regulations, which make them less competitive than those in other states and around the world.”
The organizations claim the lawsuit focuses on provisions of HB 1804, which impose unreasonable burdens on Oklahoma businesses and puts them at a disadvantage compared to competitors in other states.
They say HB 1804 puts businesses in the impossible position of having to comply with conflicting federal and state laws.
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Domestic Policy, Social Policy, Political Policy, Politics, Business, Immigration Policy, Civil Trials, Trials, Small Business, Immigration
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