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David Stanley Ford

Lawmaker hopes to revive stalled anti-illegal immigrant legislation
State lawmaker hopes to revive stalled anti-illegal immigrant legislation

By The Associated Press    Comments Comment on this article41
Published: March 5, 2008

OKLAHOMA CITY - Legislation that would expand Oklahoma's anti-illegal immigrant law has stalled in the Oklahoma House, but its author said Wednesday he hopes to revive the idea by attaching parts of it to a Senate-passed measure.

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Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore, said he decided not to pursue immigration legislation that would augment a law passed last year targeting illegal immigrants because support for it was weak. Terrill also authored last year's bill, which had wide support.

"We made a strategic decision," Terrill said. "I think it's very important that if we're going to have additional immigration measures that we have a consensus in our caucus."

Even if the measure was approved by the House, it faced "almost certain death" in the Senate, Terrill said.

"They're getting hit from all sides," Terrill said. Although public opinion polls indicate expanding state anti-illegal immigrant guidelines has wide voter support, businesses have complained that last year's law has driven Hispanic workers — legal and illegal — out of the state, making it harder to find workers.

Last month, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Oklahoma's anti-illegal immigration law, alleging it interferes with federal immigration law and creates a patchwork of uncoordinated state immigration procedures.

"There is a great deal of pressure on both sides," Terrill said.

Last year's measure, House Bill 1804, went into effect for the public sector on Nov. 1 and will go into effect July 1 for private sector employers.

Among other things, it bars illegal immigrants from receiving tax-supported services, requires employers to verify the immigration status of their employees and exposes employers to legal action for hiring unauthorized immigrants in place of U.S. citizens.

Terrill's latest immigration bill, which he dubbed "son of 1804," would strengthen existing anti-immigration law by making English the state's official language and allowing law enforcement agencies to seize and forfeit assets used to harbor, transport or conceal illegal aliens.

Terrill said he plans to attach parts of the bill to a Senate-passed measure that is pending in the House. He declined to disclose which measure and would not identify its author.

He said the amendment will most likely call for making English the state's official language. The proposal would have to be approved by voters in a statewide referendum and would carve out broad exceptions for American Indian tribal languages.

Similar English-only legislation died in the House last year after it was opposed by tribal officials.

The plan would require that all official state government business be conducted in English and would prevent the state from having to deliver taxpayer services in a language other than English, Terrill said.

He said the proposal would avoid the costs, conflicts and burdens of providing services in multiple languages, such as using translators and publishing state documents in various languages, and adopts a federal government policy that encourages immigrants to assimilate into American society by speaking English.

House leaders said a separate immigration bill that would repeal much of House Bill 1804 also will not be heard in the House.

The measure by Rep. David Braddock, D-Altus, would restore the right of undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition at state colleges and universities, receive public entitlement assistance and get state driver's licenses, ID cards and occupational licenses.

"I'm confident there will be no weakening of 1804," Terrill said.

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David Stanley Ford


Related Topics: Domestic Policy, Social Policy, Political Policy, Politics, Immigration Policy, Immigration


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keep up the the work Randy
James, Myrtle Beach - Mar 25, 2008 at 3:37 pm
The fact is, Either your for the legality of the Laws or your against them. There's no in between and there's no picking and choosing.

Any business that depends on, or can only operate on cheap labor from Illegals, has no business doing business in this country.
Michael, Duncan - Mar 21, 2008 at 9:16 pm
and yes sandy dhores, i would rather the illegals get my tax dollars than you... you open your big mouth just like gayson and wont put any money behind it. your a dumb coward. and thats not very spartan.
Randy, Moore - Mar 6, 2008 at 8:18 pm
see not one single of you dumb okies got it right. jason from edmond is randy terrill. the sam criminal that posted his signs illegally in my yard. JT im in norman aswell. i can drive you around norman and show you the mistakes that have been made. ive lived here my whole life pretty much. a matter a fact we can use my business to hire the people you say want to work. ill will show you precisely how they its not just that simple. everyone agrees that illegals are an injustice in our state. i agree also, but to pin it on one race and say that they are busting the fabric of the economy is just wrong. whether they have visas, temp passes, or they are illegal its their money to spend or save or send as they please. "the real jason" or gayson as i like to call him works for randy terrill. its not his real name and he cant afford to live in edmond or norman. he has less economic impact than my grandmother who is 6 feet underground. how anyone takes his posts seriously is beyond me. the world and our state is not so black and white. time will tell you that randys intentions are as bad as his bill. i am saying that randy is just as big as criminal as any illegal. does anyone in here even own a business? have you not even tried to be compasionate and try to give the panhandler a job? have you ever went through the hiring process just to have an employee quit and make more off welfare? the mexicans and asians and whoever are not responsible for keeping wages low....the government is! its easy to see from gaysons posts that while he can cut and paste and use 2 dollar words, but knows little of how things are in reality. thats what leads me to believe hes randy. a short fat little lieing weasle that only looks out for himself. he could care less about the norman moore area. without his little church buddies he would be just another baptist pedophile. go back to alva gayson! you cant afford it here.
Randy, Moore - Mar 6, 2008 at 8:16 pm
The person that monitors this comment section is the real sicko here, they are all the people you just listed & they are here to keep the paper alive.
Jimmy, Sandy Shores - Mar 6, 2008 at 7:18 pm
nocona from santa fe, aka Jason from Edmond<-----candidate for the mental health poster child of the year. A sick, profane, diseased individual who trolls this site like a simpering, filthy little troll, he needs a full scale intervention - and then a straight-jacket.
Jason, Edmond - Mar 6, 2008 at 4:48 pm
nocona from santa fe, aka about a dozen other silly pseudonyms (including Jason from Edmond), is still at it, I see. nocona, have you stopped using racial slurs in your posts yet?
Jason, Edmond - Mar 6, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Jason, I understand what you're trying to say. I don't want my tax dollars wasted either, but of course they are all the time. Seriously, we have to know who's coming into the country. Yes, there are illegals here that just want to work, but there are those that just want to commit crimes. I'm not sure the advocates really want these illegals to be legal and here's why. If illegals workers become legal, that means those businesses will have to cough up real wages, taxes, and everything else associated with legal resident worker rights. That's not what these businesses want, they just want cheap illegal labor to avoid all those costs. That's what this is all about, stopping the exploitation of illegal workers. Everyone, I mean everyone, should be on the same level playing field. Circumventing the system only means profit for big business, while bringing on a new form of slavery - taxpayer subsidized illegal labor. I also agree with some of your comments, but there has to be respect for the law by all people living in this country.
J.T.(I), Norman - Mar 6, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Jason, You have a vested interest in the hispanic community that is pretty plain to see. I might add that you need to learn to speak the english language as well as write it. You stoop to name calling because you can't win & won't win!!!
Jimmy, Sandy Shores - Mar 6, 2008 at 3:38 pm
C'mon over to the dark side, Jason. Use your aggressive feelings. Let the hate flow through you.___Glad some folks are accepting of us dumb okies with fat, ugly wives. We just want the best for our families too. How much to mow your yard, by the way? Gas bill and cable bill are both going up....now *that* is a real crime!
K.L., warr acres - Mar 6, 2008 at 2:54 pm
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Ignore K.L.
There is a place that I want to live but I am having trouble. Jason‘s house. I would like access to his property, to enter anytime I like, to use anything he has, take advantage of all those things he has worked hard to earn (don’t know what I’d do with BeeGee’s 8-tracks tho..). I’ll be moving my extended family into his house-hope he doesn’t feel too uncomfortable. I don’t do drugs and I am not a criminal. I just want a better life for my family. Oh, I’d rather not help to pay the bills for the utilities, mortgage, or taxes though. He has so much compared to me (he does live in Edmond) and I just want the opportunity to thrive. I know I might not have been invited or even asked to come in and take over the house, but I just want my family to have a better standard of living. Thank you for your support, Jason. You are so much better than all of us. And since he is not a hypocrite, I’m sure he’ll list the address to his house in his next post.
K.L., warr acres - Mar 6, 2008 at 2:21 pm
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Ignore K.L.
K.L. <--another canidate for dumb okie of the year. K.L. the illegals that come here and work pay taxes and put into healthcare and social security. so tell your ugly wife to call randys fat wife and ill pay them to mow my lawn..under the table of course so they wont have to pay taxes.
Randy, Moore - Mar 6, 2008 at 1:58 pm
There is a nation I want to be a part of but I am having trouble. In that people’s nation, I would like to access their healthcare, their educational opportunities, their academic scholarships, their employment programs (I really am a hard worker) or just live a quiet life with them. I just want a better life for my family. And I do understand--and really appreciate--that the cost (for those things of theirs that I want to take for my own) was paid by that nation’s people in their livelihood and cost many of their precious lives. Remember, I mean well....I just want the best for my family. And as I read all the pro-alien supporters here, I am sooooooo glad that I can count on you to stand by me and help me to kick open the front door of the Cherokee Nation (or one of the other 563 tribes) and take from them those things I have no right to have. I just want the best for my family. (File\Hyperbole Off\ENTER)
K.L., warr acres - Mar 6, 2008 at 1:52 pm
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oh and jt, i guess youd like it if i came and put porn and gamling signs in your yard for all to see? do you even have a yard?
Randy, Moore - Mar 6, 2008 at 12:58 pm
buzz. there never in the history of humanity of a case where a wall solved a problem. you go build you silly fence. and leave my tax dollars to a real issue.
Randy, Moore - Mar 6, 2008 at 12:57 pm
finally jt, your being honest. now you tell me whats worse 1000 people in oklahoma working for paychecks(paying taxes) illegally?, or a represenative that divides a state, breaks the law for his own promogation, and wants to put 70000 tax paying american okies out of business?
Randy, Moore - Mar 6, 2008 at 12:56 pm
You're right Jason, I see the light now. Forget enforcing any laws, let's just have anarchy. No laws and everything goes. No more of this selective enforcement, just free spirited and anyone can do anything they want. That's right, Jason said no more laws, no government, and no civilization. Everyone around world, it's ok to come here and do anything you want. Goodbye USA, it was nice knowing you.
J.T.(I), Norman - Mar 6, 2008 at 12:27 pm
especially if a republican wins the office & /..hey jimmy where do you want to meet. ill bet you 5000 dollars a democrat will win the white house in aught 8. us real republicans dont like bigger government, we dont like spending money for more government, we dont like tax increases. we dont like more laws on books that are so full of useless laws that virually none are enforced. terrill is a bush republican. which means that if we voted democrat we would have saved money. your so mired in one little point that it blinds you from the big picture. everyone knows illegals are illegals. name a time when illegals were not in this country. name a time in the future. there will always be illegals. there will always be criminals. the sad thing is and i will say it once again, is that this bill was meant to polorize the people in this state. meaning if everyone can agree that illegal is illegal then terrill did good. well duh. a monkey could have presented this bill, got it passed because its "right". randy has done nothing else but use this to get elected into a higher office. randy is a joke. and dont worry ...i know you dont have 5 grand. but could you atleast afford a 6 pack or something. if you cant i guess your word aint worth much.
Randy, Moore - Mar 6, 2008 at 12:18 pm
GRASSFIRE "Where's The Fence??"

There have only been two sections of the designed, legislated, and approved, double-layered fence built. One section near San Diego, and the other at San Luis (Yuma), AZ. Both of these sections have been very highly effective at stopping illegal immigration.

We need more of this orginally designed, legislated, and funded fence.

I just signed a petition demanding our leaders in Congress to
build the border fence--as it was promised to us. I'm asking you
to join me in signing.

http://www.grassfire.org/242/petition.asp?PID=15638677&NID=1

Thanks for joining with me, and I thank you for passing this on to friends.

Buzz, Cupertino - Mar 6, 2008 at 12:15 pm
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So if I overhear a clerk selling a lottery ticket to someone and using Spanish to explain it, whom do I call to report the crime of "conducting business in a language other then English?" If I overhear a mechanic explaining the internal combustion engine to a driver whose car is malfunctioning, and using a language that doesn't sound like English to me, what is the phone number of the "language police?" If a worker is mangled on the job and dies because he cannot understand the English speaking first responder, what is the agency I contact to report the violation of the law, namely he was trying to "conduct business in a language other than English?" And if he lives because the first responder used a language other than English, whom do I contact to report the first responder for "conducting business in a langauge other than English?" All of the possibilities should be placed on a sheet and made available to all citizens of Oklahoma (in English) so we are prepared from day one to start reporting these people who engage in illegal activities, which we all so fervently oppose. As in child abuse, perhaps "failure to report" could also be made a crime?
Percy, Ardmore - Mar 6, 2008 at 11:53 am
David when will you get it? Neither of these people touched on illegal immigration & won't because they need the hispanic vote for now , but it will be addressed at some point & time, especially if a republican wins the office & McCain will have to do something about closing the borders & fining the employers, but why don't we just wait & see who is right. The hispanics are being used right now.Why do you think Bushes amnesty bill was not passed? It could be because people do not want amnesty for the illegals. I think you will find many Americans that support deportation & the sooner the better.
Jimmy, Sandy Shores - Mar 6, 2008 at 11:40 am
I would love for Randy to run for President Jimmy. Let's see how far he gets considering all the states including ours voted for Presidential candidates who oppose legislation like "Randy's". Oklahoma voted for McCain and Clinton who both support comprehensive immigration reform. When will you all get it that most Americans do not support this kind of legislation without some sort of pathway to citizenship for illegals already here.
David, Norman - Mar 6, 2008 at 10:47 am
JT, why are only some laws enforced. Randy illegally has posted hundreds of signs on my property in nw norman for years. thats illegal... why isnt that enforced. your arguement that the hb1804 be enforced rather then a taxpayer be trampled on is a joke. and another thing is all you other dimwitted okies that think randy is so great...your not even in the district. if you love him so much pay for him and his fat family to move next door to you. we dont want him representing us anymore. he literally has done nothing to help the people in his district. By the way...arent republicans supposed to shrink government..not make more government. why doesnt randy do something useful like go and stike all the useless laws from the thousands of books. ill tell you why. because he was picked on as a kid, and wants to punish all okies.. and guess what thats why your called "dumb okies". and JJ you go make the people on welfare work. <---that is lunacy. the folks at the welfare office would rather sit in their trailers, steal copper, and smoke crack. you not living in reality and seeing the true nature of the problems. and the problem aint undocumented workers. its crooked polly-ticians like terrill.
Randy, Moore - Mar 6, 2008 at 10:44 am
I hope at some point in the future that Randy Terril would consider running for president. I know he would have to tip toe around this subject like our newest candidates but after he won he could hopefully get the job done.
Jimmy, Sandy Shores - Mar 6, 2008 at 10:09 am
I hope Randy Terrill stays in office for a very long time. He is the first legislator I have ever seen that have the GUTS to stand up for what he believes his constituents want. You go, RANDY!
Marie, Oklahoma City - Mar 6, 2008 at 9:33 am

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