Thread: OK,Charities Express Concern Over New Immigration Bill

OKLAHOMA CITY -- There are new worries for charity workers, who fear that Oklahoma's new immigration law will do more harm than good.

The question with which they're concerned is: Can they get into trouble by helping somebody who happens to be an illegal immigrant.


The new law states that it is illegal to hire undocumented immigrants, but it also states that they cannot be housed. What does that mean for places that provide shelter?

As the Director of Catholic Charities, Tim O'Connor is reading up on Oklahoma's new immigration law.

"I think it puts at risk with the law or in violation of the law in terms of offering any kind of help," O'Connor said.

The law's primary goal is to prevent employers from hiring undocumented immigrants, but O'Connor said he is worried about side effects.

"To put those kinds of restrictions on a faith-based organization, it compromises the mission of our agency," he said.

That mission feeds and clothes hundreds of people per year. O'Connor said he believes basic needs will be slowed under the new law.

"How do you separate hungry people -- hungry people with children -- when they're in the lobby and say that some are more worthy than others," he said.

O'Connor added that he's worried about his own workers, whether they could be jailed just for trying to help people. He said though that regardless of the law, they will not turn anybody away.

"When we say, well, you can't live here, and you can't support yourself either, we're really just telling them that they have no value," he said.

O'Connor said he's keeping an eye on federal legislation to see
http://www.koco.com/news/13438387/detail.html

If a charities supports illegals, they need to pay taxes and the management needs to go jail. The management is disobeying the laws of the land.