OK Republicans push back against Biden Administration’s attack on state’s new immigration law

OKLAHOMA CITY (KSWO) - State Republican leaders are pushing back after the U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to both Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt and Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond stating legal action will be taken regarding the recently-signed state immigration law.

The newly-signed law, House Bill 4156, conflicts with federal law and thus, violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, according to the letter sent by the DOJ.

The letter goes on to say legal action will be taken to ensure the supremacy of federal law if Oklahoma does not refrain from carrying out the provisions within HB4156.

In response, AG Drummond and Oklahoma Speaker Charles McCall (R-Atoka) sent statements disavowing the moves promised by the DOJ.

In particular, Speaker McCall stood by the bill in his letter and at the same time called out the Biden Administration’s job so far regarding the southern border.

“I find it laughable that in the Administration’s letter to Gov. Stitt and Attorney General Drummond, they claim Oklahoma is interfering with the function of the federal government on immigration issues,” McCall said. “There has been nothing but disfunction at the federal level since President Biden took office. House Bill 4156 was a carefully crafted, well-thought-out piece of legislation designed to acknowledge the role of the federal government in immigration matters, while at the same time protect the sovereignty and security of our state’s borders.”

Drummond seemingly echoed McCall’s attack on the Biden Administration within his own response.

“One thing that has been glaring over the last 3.5 years is that the Biden Administration is only ‘committed’ to subverting the immigration laws of this country,” Drummond wrote. “Your misguided demands ignore that Oklahoma has not only the sovereign right, but also the solemn legal obligation, to protect its own borders and its own citizens.”

Drummond’s response continued by casting doubt on the DOJ’s legal argument surrounding Oklahoma’s immigration bill which the DOJ compares to Texas’ embattled SB 4 measure.

“Oklahoma is exercising its concurrent and complementary power as a sovereign state to address an ongoing public crisis within its borders through appropriate legislation,” Drummond wrote. “Put more bluntly, Oklahoma is cleaning up the Biden Administration’s mess through entirely legal means in its own backyard – and will resolutely continue to do so by supplementing federal prohibitions with robust state penalties.”

Some within the Oklahoma Legislature and even some law enforcement groups recently casted doubt on the soundness of HB4156.

Democratic Sen. Michael Brooks (D-OKC) said he attempted to make HB4156 better before the Oklahoma Senate passed it, but his amendment didn’t make the cut.

“I attempted to offer language that would have given us the opportunity to address this issue in a meaningful, bipartisan way, empowering the state of Oklahoma to succeed where the federal government has failed to address key issues,” Brooks said. “We could have provided the framework to give a state ID or driver license to those individuals who comply with specific requirements, including paying state and federal income tax, verifying their identity with the state, registering their address, and submitting a fingerprint to the largest law enforcement database in the nation.”

Last week, the Oklahoma Association of Chiefs of Police and Metro Law Enforcement Agency Leaders released a joint statement casting doubt on the newly-signed state immigration law, saying it could bring legal challenges including those involving racial-profiling.

“Law enforcement leaders from state organizations and municipalities were not substantively involved during the process of drafting and signing HB4156 into law,” the groups wrote. “This bill places crime victims at risk by increasing the fear of reporting to law enforcement. Further, HB4156 brings forth legal challenges in fair and impartial policing and anti-racial profiling.”

However, Drummond believes the bill does not allow for racial-profiling of any sorts.

“This law is a powerful tool to combat those foreign nationals who enter and remain in this country illegally, and who become involved in serious criminal activity such as illegal marijuana-grow operations, fentanyl distribution, sex trafficking, and labor trafficking,” Drummond wrote. “At the same time, I emphasize that racial profiling of any sort is not only unacceptable under any circumstances, but also illegal in Oklahoma. … To detain someone who looks, sounds, or acts ‘foreign’ is itself un-American and will never be tolerated by this office.”

On May 15, many people rallied against the measure in front of the Oklahoma Capitol during Hispanic Cultural Day. Many Democrats in the legislature participated and spoke during the rally.

How your Southwest-based legislators voted on HB4156:

You can read the full DOJ letter here:

And you can read AG Drummond’s full response here:

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