Sen. Brooks comments after Senate passage of bill criminalizing immigrants

OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Michael Brooks, D-Oklahoma City, released the following statement after the full Senate approved House Bill 4156, creating misdemeanor and felony crimes aimed at Oklahoma’s immigrant populations.

“While I agree with the desire for our communities and state to be safe and secure, House Bill 4156 is not the answer. The bill has been fast-tracked, bypassing the opportunity for vetting and public input at the committee level, and could leave tens of thousands of immigrants within our state at risk for unfair profiling and persecution, regardless of their status. My constituents, and those of other legislators, are fearful of this legislation, and rightly so.

“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. 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. These are real solutions that would move our state forward in terms of both our economy and in addressing public safety concerns.

“Immigrants make up seven percent of Oklahoma’s labor force, most often in hard-to-fill jobs in hospitality, agriculture, and construction. They’re hard-working, contributing members of communities throughout our state. Oklahoma has 33,000 undocumented immigrants who pay about $26 million annually in state income tax. We’re already facing workforce shortages. How will we fill those jobs, or make up that $26 million? We need real solutions that put people over politics.”

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For more information, contact:  
Sen. Michael Brooks: (405) 521-5557 or Michael.Brooks@oksenate.gov