Senate passes muscular immigration reform bill

Received today from the House press office ....

Speaker Cargill and Rep. Terrill Praise Senate Passage of Immigration Reform

OKLAHOMA CITY (April 16, 2007) - House Speaker Lance Cargill and state Rep. Randy Terrill today praised members of the Oklahoma Senate forpassing a tough illegal immigration bill and predicted it will soon besent to Gov. Brad Henry.
"This landmark legislation recognizes that government first hasa duty to those citizens who play by the rules, follow the law and pay taxes," said Cargill, R-Harrah. "We cannot expect others to abide by thelaw when there are rewards for breaking the law."
"This is a great day for Oklahoma taxpayers," said state Rep.Randy Terrill, R-Moore. "For too long, the working families of Oklahoma have been forced to subsidize illegal immigration. With passage of House Bill 1804, that will come to an end."
House Bill 1804, by Terrill, creates the Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2007. The bill is part of the House Republican majority's legislative agenda and previously passed out of the Oklahoma House of Representatives by an overwhelming, 88-9 bipartisan vote.
The Oklahoma Senate approved the bill today with strong bipartisan support on a 41-6 vote.
HB 1804 has the support of two national immigration reform advocacy groups and has been labeled one of the nation's toughest anti-illegal immigration laws.
Key elements of the bill focus on determining work eligibility. The measure also contains provisions to ensure taxpayer-supported benefits are made available to American citizens and legal immigrants only. The bill also gives state and local law enforcement officials the power to enforce federal immigration law.
Terrill said he is committed to working with advocacy groups to address any continuing concerns they may have about the new law.
House Bill 1804 will now return to the Oklahoma House of Representatives for a final vote before going to Gov. Brad Henry for his signature.
"After accepting Senate amendments, I sincerely hope that Governor Henry will quickly sign House Bill 1804 into law," Terrill said.
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Just a note, the Red Dirt Reporter spoke with Sen. Randy Bass (D-Lawton) about the immigration bill just prior to hearing it and said, "Nobody wants anyone illegal in the United States. To me it's more of a federal issue."
Bass added that this issue was of particular importance to his constituents noting that "Everybody is calling in about this. I've received 5,000 emails ... they're clogging my computer."
Bass also said his only concern is that he doesn't want legal immigrants adversely affected by the law, were it to pass, which, as we know, it did. And that's a good thing. :-)