Oklahoma has been sued by the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday in order to block a law that seeks to impose criminal penalties on those who are living in the state illegally. This law said that the illegal residence in the state will face punishment of two years of prison. Similar laws has been passed in Texas and Iowa are already facing opposition from the US Justice Department.
The Justice Department put allegations of violation of the U.S. constitution on Oklahoma and asked the court to declare it invalid and to prohibit the state from enforcing it. Head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division and U.S. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Brian M. Boynton said in a statement, “Oklahoma cannot disregard the U.S. Constitution and settled Supreme Court precedent. 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 said the bill was necessary because the Biden administration is failing to secure the nation’s borders.
Stitt said, “Not only that, but they stand in the way of states trying to protect their citizens.” The Justice Department warned Oklahoma officials last week that if they enforce the law, the agency will be sued. “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.”
The law in Oklahoma is currently facing several large protests at the state capital which includes migrants and their families raising voice in the concern that their loved ones will be punished by the police without any crime.