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by TOM FERGUSON
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) — The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma is speaking out against an immigration bill that the Oklahoma House passed on Thursday.
House Bill 4156 would allow state law enforcement to arrest and imprison illegal immigrants, according to the Oklahoma Attorney General's Office.
It garnered support from Republicans but opposition from Democrats.
The ACLU of Oklahoma argued the measure would have unintended consequences—and make communities across the state less safe.
Cindy Nguyen, policy director for the ACLU of Oklahoma, asserted, "This is politics and not policy."
She shared that the legislation would result in those in the country illegally being pushed to the outskirts of society.
In her view, "This bill is going to decrease their trust in law enforcement and victim service providers so they are not going to come forward when they are survivors of abuse."
Nguyen described the bill as an overreach of state powers—fearing it would increase racial profiling and separate families.
An unheard amendment to the bill would have allowed those in the state illegally to get driver's licenses, which Nguyen noted would lower hit-and-run incidents.
Another would allow legal residents arrested wrongly under the bill's provisions to sue the detaining law enforcement agency for $10,000.
"The state cannot attempt to regulate immigration. That power belongs exclusively to Congress. All this bill is going to do is create conflict between federal law and state law," added Nguyen.
Oklahoma's Attorney General Gentner Drummond (R) disagrees. He argued that the bill is needed to crack down on illegal marijuana activity often tied to foreign nationals.
He released the following statement in response to the Oklahoma House's passage of the legislation:
In March, the attorney general called for lawmakers to act on illegal immigration during the current legislative session.
The bill now heads to the Oklahoma Senate for further consideration.
