Weekly Opinion Editorial
IS OKLAHOMA NOW A SANCTUARY STATE?
by Steve Fair
A sanctuary is a jurisdiction that has
an ordinance, law or executive order that interferes with U.S. Immigration
& Customs Enforcement(ICE) ability to enforce United States illegal
immigration laws.
The Center for Immigration Studies(CIS) is
an independent, non-partisan, non-profit research organization founded in 1985.
It is the nation's only think tank devoted exclusively to research and policy
analysis of the economic, social, demographic, fiscal, and other impacts of
immigration on the United States. CIS
maintains a comprehensive list of sanctuary states, cities and counties. In spite of Oklahoma not being a sanctuary
according to the U.S. Department of State, over 3,000 refugees have resettled
in Oklahoma since 2010. As of April 2019, CIS shows no Oklahoma city, or county
as a sanctuary for immigrates, but after last week, perhaps CIS needs to update
their map.
Last week, Governor Kevin Stitt sent a three sentence letter to U.S.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stating Oklahoma would continue to allow refugees
to come to the Sooner state. This comes
after President Trump signed an executive order which allows cities and states
to bar refugees. Governor Stitt said 48 faith
leaders in Oklahoma reached out and requested the State to continue to accept
refugees. "As part of their
relocation, these refugees undergo a thorough legal vetting process and are often
reunited with family already living in the States. I appreciate Oklahoma
churches who have assisted these individuals, and stand ready to continue to do
so, to ensure the success of refugees in our communities,” Stitt said. In their letter to Stitt, the faith leaders
said: “Refugees play an important role in
Oklahoma's economy. Refugees are employment authorized from the day they arrive
and are eager to embrace the dignity of work, a right that was generally denied
them in the countries from which they came." Three thoughts:
First,
Stitt’s position on immigration has changed. In 2018, Stitt said at a Muskogee County GOP
event: “First off, I support President
Trump. We've got to have strong borders in our state. We've got to know who's
coming into our country. I do not believe in sanctuary cities. We have
to be a state of laws. And as governor I will enforce laws. I will enforce the
immigration laws. We will not have sanctuary cities. We'll have to tell our law
enforcement that they're going to have to enforce the laws." By Stitt allowing
the refugees (who are illegals) to continue to come to Oklahoma, it has become
a de- facto sanctuary state. That is not
what he campaigned on in 2018.
Second,
not all people of faith agree with Stitt’s position. Perhaps those faith leaders who have the
largest congregations and influence key donors want Oklahoma to be open to allowing
illegals to come to the state, but many faith leaders across the state want immigration
laws to be enforced. While they have
compassion for the refugee’s political and economic situation, they understand
that illegal means illegal and until the refugee has adhered to the law, they
should be barred from resettling in Oklahoma.
Third,
enforcing the law is not easy. The
law is the law is the law. While having
personal compassion for the refugee’s situation is admirable, allowing refugees
(illegal immigrates) to enter the state is not enforcing the law. The governor should have taken Trump’s out
and barred the refugees from resettling in Oklahoma until they had fulfilled
all legal requirements for immigrating to the U.S.
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