Oklahoma's Immigration News

There's some interesting immigration news out of Oklahoma this morning.

(1) Our Republican governor, Kevin Stitt, recently commented that he thinks states should be in charge of work authorization for noncitizens: "Let's go ahead and let the governors issue work force permits. So if I have an employer that needs an employee and they're already working--they might be working illegally or whatever--let's make that happen from a governor's perspective." Stitt said it would be "devastating" if every working, undocumented, noncitizen in the state of Oklahoma were to be deported. Stitt: "I’m closer to the agricultural needs of Oklahoma than somebody in Washington, D.C. And Governor Moore is closer to the needs in the fishery business in Maryland than somebody in Washington DC. Let the states control workforce permits. I think that is something we can get agreement around."

(2) OKC is getting a new OPLA hub. The feds have entered a 10-year lease on 17,000 sq ft of office space in downtown OKC. Local news is reporting that the office has already hired four attorneys from the OKC DA's office as well as one attorney who will leave private practice to become the assistant chief counsel for the office. This is interesting because we don't have an immigration court in OK. Our nearest spot is in Dallas.

(3) ICE wanted to purchase warehouse space in OKC for immigration detention space, but that deal fell through. There was a LOT of community backlash on that one that I'm sure played a role in the deal ending.