Oklahoma “Occupation” Bill Becomes Law

Kingofthedead + original by 25or6to4, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Not too long ago, I wrote about a new Oklahoma law that would criminalize “occupation” of the state of Oklahoma by any “alien” who “willfully and without permission enters and remains in the State of Oklahoma without having first obtained legal authorization to enter the United States.”

Yesterday, Governor Stitt signed this bill into law.

The Oklahoman reports that the bill was drafted at the request of Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond. (Fun Fact: Ree Drummond, -aka- the Pioneer Woman, is the wife of Drummond’s second cousin.) Anyhoo, AG Drummond praised passage of the bill for allowing “state law enforcement officers to arrest and incarcerate illegal immigrants as a means of helping combat Oklahoma’s numerous illegal marijuana grow operations.”

Governor Stitt, in turn, said “I want our Hispanic community to rest assured that this law does not give law enforcement the authority to profile individuals or question them about their immigration status without reasonable suspicion of a crime.” I’m not sure how reassuring that statement is since “occupation” is itself a crime that one could be suspected of committing.

-KitJ