Claims of HB 1804 Critics Undercut
by Constitution Staff
Critics of House Bill 1804 have repeatedly claimed Oklahoma's omnibus immigration reform law will wreak economic havoc in the state by driving out illegal aliens who "do jobs that Americans won't." However, economic trends are completely undercutting their argument, says state Rep. Randy Terrill.
"The pro-illegal alien lobby keeps claiming the sky will fall in Oklahoma because we do not functionally grant amnesty to illegal aliens, but there's no sign of any serious, negative economic impact," said Terrill, the Moore Republican who authored the immigration law. "Instead, Oklahoma's unemployment rate is down and the state is one of the bright spots in the national economy. There are several reasons for Oklahoma's good fortune, but there's no doubt House Bill 1804 is having a positive impact on our labor market and the wages paid to Oklahomans."
Terrill noted Oklahoma's unemployment rate fell to 3.1 percent in March, the fourth-lowest rate in the nation and a full percentage point less than a year ago (before House Bill 1804 took effect). Oklahoma's declining unemployment rate led NewsBusters, a national publication, to ask if Oklahoma's "enforcement-focused immigration reform law" was a major reason for the dramatic improvement in the state's unemployment rate, noting that most states are experiencing increased unemployment.
Also, Forbes magazine named Oklahoma City the most recession-proof city in America because of the city's strong housing market and solid growth in agriculture, energy and manufacturing – sectors that HB 1804 critics claimed would face major problems due to the exit of cheap illegal alien slave labor.
"Far from hurting our state economy, House Bill 1804 is freeing up jobs for Oklahomans and boosting our economy," Terrill said. "The law is helping protect Oklahoma from the worst impacts of a potential national recession on the horizon."
Among other things, House Bill 1804 terminates taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal aliens, empowers state and local law enforcement to detain illegal aliens for deportation, and requires businesses to verify employment eligibility of workers or face serious legal and financial consequences.
Terrill said House Bill 1804 is just one of several policies enacted by state lawmakers in recent years that are protecting Oklahoma from an economic downturn. Since 2005, lawmakers have approved tax cuts that will pump an extra $1.3 billion into the state economy's private sector by next year – money that is fueling new investment and job creation. Legislators have also reined in state government growth by putting money into Oklahoma's "Rainy Day" fund instead of spending it, giving the state a security blanket in case of a downturn.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Oklahoma City and Tulsa chambers have sued the state seeking to have HB1804 overturned in federal court. The chambers' lawsuit particularly challenges sections of the law that make it difficult for businesses to exploit illegal alien laborers.
On June 4, Western U.S. District Judge Robin Cauthron issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting enforcement of certain private employer provisions of HB1804 which were scheduled to go into effect on July 1. Those provisions would have required employers contracting with the state government to verify that their employees are not illegal aliens by using a simple federal database (E-Verify), allowed Oklahoma citizens to sue an employer who fired them while retaining an illegal alien to perform the same job, and required businesses to check the citizenship status of independent contractors. While Cauthron's ruling blocked implementation of parts of the law, her order did not vacate the entire law.
But Cauthron’s ruling has been undermined by a presidential executive order notes state Rep. Terrill. "It was clear from the very beginning that Judge Cauthron’s ruling was inconsistent with recent decisions in other similar cases, most notably in Missouri and Arizona," said Terrill who authored the legislation. "Now President Bush’s executive order makes it obvious the judge’s ruling was wrong and should be overturned."
In the ruling, Cauthron claimed "federal law prohibits use of the Status Verification Systems to verify employment eligibility." That claim was contradicted the following week when President George W. Bush issued Executive Order 12829, requiring anyone contracting with the federal government to use the E-verify system. Bush’s order stated, "It is the policy of the executive branch to enforce fully the immigration laws of the United States, including the detection and removal of illegal aliens and the imposition of legal sanctions against employers that hire illegal aliens" and noted that E-verify "provides the best available means to confirm the identity and work eligibility of all employees that join the Federal workforce."
"Judge Cauthron claimed federal law does not allow the use of E-Verify to ensure an employee is a legal citizen or resident of the United States, but now President Bush has ordered federal officials to use the system for that explicit purpose," Terrill said. "It’s clear the judge’s decision was based on an incorrect reading of the law."
Terrill noted that other complaints of the bill’s opponents are also falling apart. Although business groups claim E-Verify is burdensome for employers, Stewart Baker, an assistant secretary for policy at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, recently dismantled many of the claims of E-Verify critics. Baker noted that to use E-Verify, the employer must enter data about a new hire such as name, social security number, date of birth, and other data that employers already record on federal forms.
"Anyone who has seen it done once can do it, and the process takes a few minutes," Baker wrote. "Understanding the rules that go with the process requires a bit of online training, but that takes at most an hour or two. Plus, E-Verify makes it unlikely that a company will get a Social Security Administration notice at the end of the year indicating that some of its new hires have Social Security Numbers that don’t match their names. So time spent now on verification will save hassles later."
Terrill expects the legislation will eventually be upheld by the courts. "One by one, the criticisms of House Bill 1804 are being dismantled and it’s becoming clear opponents of the law have just one goal: the continued exploitation of cheap illegal alien slave labor to drive down the wages paid to Oklahoma citizens," Terrill said. "Oklahoma can do better and we will when Judge Cauthron’s poorly reasoned decision is overturned."
Terrill has drawn two Democrat opponents, and one Republican primary opponent. Terrill’s Republican opponent is being supported by Big Business corporate interests that favor the use of cheap illegal alien labor, which Terrill has likened to “slave labor.”
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