"Judge to consider HB 1804 arguments"


By BILL BRAUN World Staff Writer
4/12/2008


A lawsuit claims that the state's new anti- illegal immigration law is unconstitutional.


A Tulsa County judge heard legal arguments Friday in a court action that challenges the constitutionality of a new state law dealing with illegal immigration.

District Judge Jefferson Sellers did not rule on the matter and did not set a date for a decision.

Attorneys now have the opportunity to submit proposed "findings of fact and conclusions of law."

Those pleadings are due two weeks after a transcript of the court hearing is prepared, and the transcript is expected to be ready in a week.

The plaintiff in the case is Michael C. Thomas, identified as a resident taxpayer of Tulsa County. One of his lawyers is his father, James C. Thomas, a law professor at the University of Tulsa.

James Thomas and co-counsel Steve Hickman argued that the new law, known as House Bill 1804, creates a Bureau of Immigration in this state and allows for the appropriation and expenditure of public funds in violation of the Oklahoma Constitution.

The plaintiff's attorneys assert that HB 1804 includes multiple subjects, in violation of a constitutional requirement that every act of the Legislature is to embrace a single subject.

"It is too encompassing," James Thomas said. "I think 1804 is so tainted."

Among other facets, the new law makes it illegal to knowingly transport illegal immigrants, creates state barriers to hiring illegal immigrants, and requires proof of citizenship before one can receive some government benefits.

Gov. Brad Henry and the Tulsa County commissioners were named as defendants in the lawsuit, filed Jan. 3, which seeks to "prevent an alleged wrongful expenditure of public funds" for "enforcement of an unconstitutional statute," according to a court filing.

Earlier this week, after Gov. Henry agreed that he would "not challenge venue as existing in Tulsa County," the plaintiff dismissed the Tulsa County commissioners as a defendant, records show.

Henry is represented by state Attorney General Drew Edmondson's office.

On Henry's behalf, Assistant Attorney General Daniel Weitman argued Friday that the law "touches on immigration" but does not establish a Bureau of Immigration.

The purpose of HB 1804, which was "overwhelmingly" approved by the Legislature, "is to protect the taxpayer and the state's resources from the adverse affects of illegal immigration," Weitman said.

A friend-of-the-court brief previously filed on behalf of Roman Catholic Bishop Edward J. Slattery and Catholic Charities of Tulsa asserts that provisions of HB 1804 "discour age and even criminalize the providing of the most basic spiritual, social and humanitarian services to those who are most in need of assistance."

Weitman argued to Sellers that "it is not the role of this court to determine the morality of this law."

The Attorney General's Office has asserted in a filing that statutes created by HB 1804 are not in violation of Oklahoma statutory law or the Oklahoma Constitution.
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