Legislature considers English-only idea

MONICA ALBERT AND KRISTIN HALE

OKLAHOMA CITY — Establishing English as the state’s official language is among the changes that could be made in 2008 when area lawmakers consider expanding last year’s sweeping restrictions on illegal immigration.

Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore, authored HB 1804, the landmark immigration legislation enacted in 2007. This year, he hopes to further the bill’s reach.

“(HB) 1804 is not everything that can or should be done in terms of immigration,” Terrill said.

The proposed changes would include a constitutional amendment making English the only language accepted for all state institutions.

Terrill said the bill would avoid the costs and conflicts that arise with multilingualism and align state policy with that of the federal government.

However, not all languages would be subject to the English-only requirement. Exceptions would be made for American Indian languages, Terrill said.

“We respect the unique political history of Oklahoma, so of course we would make exceptions for the 39 or so Native American tribes in our state,” he said.

Rep. Jason Murphey, R-Guthrie, said he is in favor of the proposed bill because it promotes a common culture.

“Oklahoma is a melting pot state, but we want people here to work as a team,” said Murphey, vice chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. “This bill will ensure that there is no division because of language.”

With concern growing about the potential costs of losing immigrant workers, Murphey said it is apparent that immigrant labor is needed. While he supports HB 1804, Murphey said he believes many of the problems would be eliminated if it were easier to come to the United States legally.

“People will do it the easier way,” Murphey said. “If there is a need for immigration, we need to make the process easier while still maintaining security.”

States do not have the jurisdiction to remove federal immigration requirements, but they do have the right to make requirements stricter in the state.

“It is hard to change things at the federal level,” Murphey said. “When the federal branch gets too powerful, we can’t change it. But when the states have power, we make the laws.”

Terrill said he would like to implement a requirement where Oklahoma schools would have to annually report how many immigrants are in the district, how much this is costing the district and state and how those immigrants are affecting the education of other school children.

A 1982 federal court case, Plyler v. Doe, mandated that schools could not deny immigrant children access to public education. Terrill said the new provision would not overturn that decision but provide taxpayers with information that is their right to know.

“One cannot change what one has never quantified, and one cannot quantify what one has never enforced,” Terrill said.

Terrill said a key immigration issue to be debated this session will be birthright citizenship.

The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

Terrill said if immigrants are not here legally, then they are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and therefore are not true citizens.

The debate will focus on a current Senate bill that would provide pre-natal care to immigrant mothers. Terrill wants to prevent them from receiving this benefit.

“Oklahoma cannot afford to become a welfare state for the rest of the world,” he said. “This bill would create a magnet for illegal alien mothers to have their babies here with taxpayers’ money.”

Advocates for the large immigrant population feel differently.

“It is imperative… (to) stop the implementation of (HB 1804) in federal court, in order to have freedom to minister to our Latino undocumented families in Oklahoma, and because it is our moral duty to fight for social justice for all undocumented immigrants that are here already,” said the Rev. Miguel Rivera, president of the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders in a press release.

A new bill sponsored by Terrill, the Real Immigration Enforcement and Reform Act of 2008, would strengthen enforcement of HB 1804 by creating a fund to help officers become certified by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This training would permit trained officers to perform immigration law enforcement.

Rep. Randy McDaniel, R-Edmond, said the fate of HB 1804 and other immigration bills will affect almost everyone.

“As with any legislation that becomes law, we need to monitor the outcomes,” he said. “It is my sincere hope that Congress will address this issue so that the federal government will establish uniform rules for all businesses in all states to abide by in the future.”



MONICA ALBERT and KRISTIN HALE are upper-level journalism students at the University of Oklahoma.