DOJ sues Oklahoma over immigration law that punishes those in state illegally

The Justice Department sued the state of Oklahoma on Tuesday, over a new immigration law that seeks to punish illegal immigrants that are living in the state illegally. 

The Oklahoma law is similar to laws in Iowa and Texas that also seek to punish people who live in the state, but are in the country illegally, which are also facing legal challenges from the Department of Justice (DOJ). The Oklahoma law makes it illegal to live in the state if the person does not have a legal immigration status. If convicted, the individual could face up to two years in prison, according to the Associated Press.

The DOJ has argued that the laws in all three states violate the United States Constitution by violating the Immigration and Nationality Act, and impedes on the federal government's immigration authority.

“Oklahoma cannot disregard the U.S. Constitution and settled Supreme Court precedent,” U.S. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said in a statement. “We have brought this action to ensure that Oklahoma adheres to the Constitution and the framework adopted by Congress for regulation of immigration.”

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond have slammed the Biden administration's handling of the border and immigration crisis in the country, with Stitt claiming that if President Joe Biden had secured the country's border then the new law would not be necessary.

Drummond said the DOJ's allegation that it infringes on the federal government's authority over immigration was "dubious" because the government does not have exclusive authority over the issue.

“Oklahoma is exercising its concurrent and complementary power as a sovereign state to address an ongoing public crisis within its borders through appropriate legislation,” Drummond wrote in a letter to the DOJ. “Put more bluntly, Oklahoma is cleaning up the Biden Administration’s mess through entirely legal means in its own backyard – and will resolutely continue to do so by supplementing federal prohibitions with robust state penalties.”

Critics of the new law have expressed fear over Latino residents being racially profiled, and has even led to protests at the state capitol.

“We feel attacked,” immigration lawyer Sam Wargin Grimaldo told the AP. “People are afraid to step out of their houses if legislation like this is proposed and then passed."

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.