As Oklahoma’s controversial immigration law progresses, Stitt will not commit to signing it into law

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt says he has not yet decided whether he will sign a controversial piece of immigration legislation if it reaches his desk. First, he says, he is seeking advice from a trusted foreign diplomat from Mexico.

Stitt says he agrees with lawmakers and the attorney general on the need to secure the state’s borders and address the drug and human trafficking crimes that accompany illegal immigration into the interior.

“What they’re trying to do, like Texas, and like a lot of these other states, is stop the flow of mass migration coming into the U.S.,” Stitt said. “President Biden is not using the tools in his belt to secure the southern border. So yes, states are stepping up and saying, ‘we’re going to make it very difficult to come here illegally and not follow our rules.’”

Stitt is one of more than a dozen governors sending a small number of members of their National Guard to assist Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s controversial Operation Lone Star, a sweeping border security mission involving several levels of Texas law enforcement .

He’s not sure if House Bill 4156, a measure that would criminalize anyone without legal immigration status in Oklahoma, is the best approach.

Stitt recognized the need to protect the large – and growing – Latino population in the state that provides vital workforce needs. He said he also supports legislation that would establish special work visas at the state level.

HB4156 left the House floor last week and had to pass the Senate before it could reach the governor’s desk.

“I’m not going to decide now whether I sign it or not,” Stitt said. “There are too many variables about what’s in the bill. Our team, we will look at it and assess that.”

If he signs it, Oklahoma will join a collection of states in the middle of the country in following Texas’ lead and implementing border security policies at the state level.

Stitt schedules a meeting with a Mexican diplomat

The governor said he has no intention of seeing Oklahoma families separated, something some longtime members of the Latino community fear could happen due to the broad language in the measure.

“It is not our intention at all to separate families,” Stitt said. He said he plans to consult with Mexican Consular General in Oklahoma City, Edurne Pineda, to learn how Oklahoma can address illegal immigration while protecting contributing members of the Latino community — most of whom are Mexican. .

“Hopefully I can learn from her and help the Legislature design whatever bill they’re trying to do,” he said.

Pineda said Friday that Stitt has contacted her for a conversation about the proposal, and that she is concerned about the harm the bill could cause to Mexicans in Oklahoma. They plan to meet on Monday.

As a Mexican diplomat, Edurne emphasized in an interview with KOSU that she has no power in Oklahoma’s legislative or political process. She doesn’t want it either, she said. Her goal is to tell Stitt immigrants that they are valuable to the state and that most do more good than harm.

“Immigrant communities – especially Mexicans, for whom I am proud to speak – love the United States,” Edurne said. “So it’s not fair. They are being used as pawns for political games, and that is not fair.”

By playing these games, she says, lawmakers are negatively impacting the lives of hardworking families doing their best to stay out of trouble.

“Crime rates among undocumented immigrants in the United States are among the lowest of any demographic group,” she said. “They are much lower than those of citizens or permanent residents.”

She said most people in the country without legal immigration status are good.

She acknowledged the high number of Latinos in the state arrested for drunken driving and domestic violence, but maintained her stance.

“They’re not criminals,” Edurne said. “What they do is sometimes drink too much and drive unsafely. And we also have high rates of domestic violence. That’s not okay. They are not allowed to do that, but they are not criminals. That’s what I’ll say to the governor when I see him. I cannot let this opportunity go to waste.”

She also had a message for Oklahoma’s Latino community: Don’t be afraid yet.

“Services at the Mexican Consulate will continue regardless of what happens with the proposed law,” Edurne said, explaining that this applies to regular services offered to Mexican nationals and the handful offered to Latinos in general offered.

“The proposed policy is not yet law,” she said. “So don’t be afraid. Get on with your life.”

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