Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) chastised the Biden administration for suing Oklahoma before a new statute allowing arrests of undocumented immigrants by nonfederal police was put into effect.
Three and a half years into the illegal immigration crisis, state leaders back home passed a law that Lankford, in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday, called “hypocritical” and directed the Biden Department of Justice to stop the state’s immigration enforcement efforts.
In the letter, which the Washington Examiner first received, Lankford stated, “It is hypocritical for the Biden Administration to refuse to act to secure the southern border while trying to block Oklahoma from doing its part to protect itself from this Administration’s open border policies.”
House Bill 4156, which would enable state and local law enforcement to detain foreign nationals who are in the nation unlawfully, is scheduled to go into effect on July 1. The bill, which was enacted in Texas last year and is essentially a continuation of a similar one, permits nonfederal police to enforce immigration rules, which were previously exclusively the domain of federal authorities.
In the letter, Lankford informed Garland that the state’s new law—which will go into effect in just over two weeks—was a direct reaction to the federal government’s inaction at the border.
“Oklahoma passed H.B. 4156 because of the Federal government’s lack of leadership on securing the border,” stated Lankford. “Your efforts to block Oklahoma’s implementation of this law shows that the Biden Administration continues to be unserious in its efforts to address our open southern border.”
Over 9.5 million migrants have applied for entry into the United States through U.S. Customs and Border Protection since February 2021, a few days after President Joe Biden assumed office. Among them are over 2,600 unaccompanied children who were later released to adult sponsors in Oklahoma.
Republicans have charged Biden of inciting the flood of undocumented immigrants by rolling back the Trump administration’s aggressive border security measures, a claim that Biden has denied. The number surpasses any 40-month period during any other government.
“This astronomical level of illegal immigration has strained state and local government services across the nation, creating issues for school systems, homelessness shelters, and related services,” Lankford stated.
Lankford’s home state has been directly impacted by the border problem. According to a March ProPublica investigation, Chinese migrants crossing the southern border are traveling to Oklahoma to visit illegal marijuana grow sites run by criminal Chinese organizations.
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Oklahoma in late May, before of the law’s implementation. A federal complaint from immigration rights groups was filed a few days later. The state law was allegedly in violation of both the Foreign Commerce and Supremacy Clauses, according to the DOJ lawsuit.
Chief of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, stated in a news release that “Oklahoma cannot disregard the U.S. Constitution and settled Supreme Court precedent.”
If the new law is approved, a first infraction would be considered a misdemeanor and be penalized by up to a year in jail, a $500 fine, or both. A felony conviction for a second violation carries a maximum two-year sentence in state prison, a $1,000 fine, or both.
After being found guilty for the first time or at any point afterward, an undocumented immigrant must leave the state and cannot return to Oklahoma within three days of being released from custody.
Days after the New York Post revealed that the Biden administration had allowed eight illegal immigrants into the country who were later found to be ISIS affiliates, Lankford became increasingly irate with the DOJ. It was discovered through a federal law enforcement phone tap that they had discussed how to construct bombs.
“Rather than addressing the real national security concerns [that] created our open southern border, DOJ is instead focused on handcuffing Oklahoma’s ability to address the border crisis,” Lankford stated.