Attorney General Gentner Drummond is appealing an injunction that has halted the enforcement of Oklahoma's new immigration reform law. Drummond has asked the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse a preliminary injunction issued by a federal judge on June 28, just days before the law was set to take effect. The injunction came at the urging of the Biden-Harris Administration.
House Bill 4156, passed this year at Drummond's request, aims to crack down on illegal marijuana farms in Oklahoma, most of which employ illegal immigrants. The measure allows local law enforcement to arrest and incarcerate immigrants who are in Oklahoma illegally without federal authorization.
“HB 4156 in no way conflicts with or undermines federal law. Rather, HB 4156 mirrors federal law by design,” states the brief. “Without a valid cause of action, the United States relied on speculation about how HB 4156 would be implemented, spurious conclusions about the law’s underpinnings, and fundamental misconceptions about a state’s sovereign rights and duties in a federalist system of government.”
The filing argues that HB 4156 is necessary due to what it describes as the Biden-Harris Administration's failure to secure the nation's border. It claims that these clandestine operations extend beyond black-market marijuana to include fentanyl distribution, sex trafficking, and money laundering.
“The border crisis has swamped Oklahoma with an unprecedented onslaught of criminal activity,” states the brief.
“Oklahoma communities are being harmed and harassed, while its police are overburdened and overwhelmed. The state’s ‘crisis of unauthorized entry and presence is endangering Oklahomans, devastating rural, urban, and suburban communities and is severely straining even the most diligent and well-resourced state and local government entities.’”
Drummond has vowed to seek relief from the U.S. Supreme Court if the Tenth Circuit does not grant his appeal.
“Oklahoma has a constitutional right to protect our citizens,” he said. “I will continue fighting against the open border policies of the Biden-Harris Administration all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if that’s what it takes to protect my fellow Oklahomans. Nothing is more important than the safety of our families and communities.”