Oklahoma appeals immigration law decision

The state has asked the full 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider a decision against key parts of Oklahoma’s stringent immigration law.

Three judges on the Denver-based U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last month on legal challenges to the Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2007.

The law bars an employer from firing workers who are U.S. citizens while retaining workers who are illegal aliens. The law also requires all businesses to get proof from independent contractors that the contractors are authorized to work. If a contractor doesn’t have documentation, the business must withhold taxes from payments at the top rate.

The decision in Denver last month upheld an Oklahoma City federal judge’s preliminary injunction against those requirements.

In a legal filing, state attorneys argued the ruling is inconsistent with other rulings by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals and by the U.S. Supreme Court. "Rehearing is also warranted as the proceeding involves one or more questions of exceptional importance,” they wrote.