Immigration Reform Folly

POSTED BY ARNOLD HAMILTON

The state House deepened the red in Oklahoma’s neck on Wednesday.

Only nine lawmakers had the gumption to oppose a so-called immigration reform measure so breathtakingly Draconian that it surely will spark a wildfire of legal challenges.

Unless cooler heads prevail in the Senate or Gov. Brad Henry suddenly locates his veto pen, the Lege is on the verge of transforming state and local law officers into full-time immigration enforcement agents.

That ought to be a real comfort to those with a Latino surname or accent -- or those who aren't pearly white.

The commercial television stations rarely show up at the Capitol anymore, what with the demand for wall-to-wall coverage of grass fires, drive-by shootings and spring showers.

When they do make an appearance – as they did Wednesday – the Legislature’s publicity hounds aren’t about to disappoint.

For about 100 minutes, Rep after Rep rose to somberly lament the federal government’s inaction on what they portrayed as a grave matter of national security in this post-9/11 era.

“The President of the United States has been derelict in his duties,” said state Rep. Scott Inman, D-Del City. “So has the Congress.”

The majority view: The dangers posed by 83,000 improperly documented immigrants in Oklahoma cooking meals, busing tables, cutting grass, roofing houses, installing sprinkler systems and working in hog farms can no longer be ignored.

One of the few voices of reason in the protracted debate was state Rep. Glen Bud Smithson, D-Sallisaw. His thick drawl and aw-shucks humility only added to the charm of his common-sense warning that Oklahoma is repeating an all-too-common American mistake: Mistreating people.

Think blacks and slavery and the back-of-the-bus and separate water fountains. Think Indians and broken treaties and conquered land. Think Japanese and World War II internment camps. Think women and a basic right to vote.

“We have a history of treating people bad,” he said, “and regretting it later.”

Immigration is a problem in need of a solution – a comprehensive federal solution. Oklahoma’s approach is like putting a band-aid on a severed hand. It can’t begin to deal with the underlying reason for illegal immigration: poor economic conditions in Mexico, Central America and elsewhere. It can’t secure America’s borders from a steady stream of immigrants desperate for hope, for a better way of life.

Even business leaders are worried about the measure’s effect on the Oklahoma economy. What happens if many immigrants pack up and move elsewhere? Who’s going to fill thousands of hard-labor positions at hog farms in the remote Panhandle?

This wasn’t even a significant issue for most Oklahomans two years ago. Ambitious politicians beat the drums so loudly and so long that it’s now the No. 2 issue, behind only education. It feeds a deep, ever-present strain of nativism that does Oklahoma anything but proud.

The anti-immigrant stampede is on. The 88 votes in favor were far more than the bill’s author, state Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore, predicted before Wednesday’s vote.

Terrill hinted ominously that illegal immigrants may be fleecing state taxpayers out of $1 billion. He touts as fact, figures from the Washington-based Federation for American Immigration Reform that illegal immigrants are costing Oklahoma’s taxpayers more than $200 million – even though a representative of the anti-immigrant group told a House committee last fall that its numbers are estimates of estimates.

There was no mention of new studies in Texas and California that indicate illegal immigrants actually put millions more dollars into public coffers than they take out.

The reality is, most improperly documented immigrants spend their time hiding, trying to avoid detection, hoping to keep paychecks rolling in – not trying to scam the system.

[Most, not all. Yes, there are some bad apples taking advantage of the sieve-like southern border to import all manner of criminal activity. This isn’t going to stop them. They’re chasing American dollars.]

What was even more disheartening Wednesday was the number of state representatives who expressed opposition to – or at least reservation about – the measure, yet ended up voting for it.

Smithson, for one, evidently failed to persuade himself, despite his eloquence. He cast a yes vote.

Another lawmaker, state Rep. Jerry McPeak, D-Warner, a Creek who is active in the House Native American Caucus, reminded his colleagues that “most of the rest of you folks were illegal immigrants. Welcome to our country.”

He at first voted against the measure, but before the final vote was declared, switched in favor.

And Rep. Shane Jett, R-Tecumseh, whose wife is from Brazil and working to secure her citizenship, argued passionately against the bill, noting that it served to legitimize racist groups. He pointed as proof to an Oklahoma Ku Klux Klan web site that trumpeted the measure.

Yet, when it came time to vote, Jett’s desk was clear and he was no longer on the House floor. He didn’t vote on what some lawmakers called the most important legislation this session. After the vote was declared official, Jett could be seen standing in the fifth floor hallway outside the House chamber.

An interesting note: Four of the nine “No” votes were term-limited state representatives who aren’t worried about the next election because they can’t run: Rep. David Braddock, D-Altus; Rep. Darrell Gilbert, D-Tulsa; Rep. Al Lindley, D-Oklahoma City; and Rep. Ray McCarter, D-Marlow.

Others who opposed the bill were Rep. Rebecca Hamilton, Rep. Al McAffrey and Rep. Mike Shelton, all Oklahoma City Democrats; Rep. Bill Nations, D-Norman; and Rep. Paul Roan, D-Tishomingo.

Not surprising, House Republicans voted in lock-step on the issue – even House Speaker Pro Tem Gus Blackwell of Goodwell, whose district is home to significant hog operations that rely heavily on immigrant labor.

The Senate’s immigration reform sponsor, Sen. Kenneth Corn, D-Poteau, says he supports the package in its current form, but is open to possible changes. Don’t count on the Senate, however, to significantly alter the blueprint for a state-sponsored crackdown.

At least one group stands to benefit from the folly: lawyers.

State Rep. Richard Morrissette, D-Oklahoma City, said his firm likely will add lawyers in anticipation of a tsunami of wrongful termination lawsuits if the measure becomes law.

“This,” he said, “is the full attorney employment act.”

Not to mention the Pandering Politicians Publicity Act of 2007.