One Big Step
Today Governor Brad Henry signed into law House Bill 1804, the Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2007.
The Oklahoma Legislature sought, as best a state can, to do the job the federal government has thus far lacked the courage to do; enact real immigration reform.
In signing this bill Governor Henry said “Illegal immigration is a very serious national security issue that must be addressed at the federal level” and he is right.
Hopefully someday soon the feds will get around to doing what they haven’t seen fit to do over the course of twenty plus years since Congress last enacted immigration reform.
Governor Henry also said that House Bill 1804 will not effectively address immigration reform and once again he is right.
But until Congress gets off its collective butt and does its job, the best we an hope for is that other states join with Oklahoma in enacting immigration reform on a state-by-state basis.
House Bill 1804 is not the ultimate solution to the problems arising from illegal immigration but it certainly is one big step in the right direction and for that all Oklahomans should be thankful.
