Watch a slide show and read all the stories in a series on the immigration of thousands of people from Casa Blanca to Tulsa.

Read all of the Tulsa World’s coverage of House Bill 1804.

Opponents say the immigration reform law is unjust and will force families to separate.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Hundreds of opponents of Oklahoma’s new immigration reform law rallied Thursday at the Capitol, hours after the measure took effect. The bill, they say, is racist and will break up families.

“Today our children cry,” Pat Fennell of the Latino Community Development Agency told the crowd. “But tomorrow our children vote.”

House Bill 1804 by Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore, and Sen. James Williamson, R-Tulsa, took effect Thursday.

The new law requires employers to verify the legal status of workers and tightens rules on issuing identification cards. It also makes it a felony to harbor or transport illegal immigrants.

The bill is ironic, especially considering that Oklahoma “defines itself by those who settled here illegally,” said the Rev. Don Wolf, referring to the Sooners who sneaked into Oklahoma ahead of the April 22, 1889, land run.

The Duncan priest also referred to the classic novel, “The Grapes of Wrath,” which tells of the plight of Oklahomans traveling to California during the Dust Bowl days.

“The most famous book about Oklahoma is about Okies who became economic refugees,” he told the crowd.

Wolf said that the law’s purpose is to cause fear and misery.

“We stand against the misery that this law causes,” he said. “We stand with all of those who can’t speak because they’re afraid.”

Conflict and controversy: Several state leaders spoke at the two-hour rally, including Rep. Al Lindley, D-Oklahoma City, and Oklahoma NAACP President Roosevelt Milton.

“This country was built on conflict and controversy,” Milton said. “And we continue to have conflict and controversy.”

Milton said that the NAACP considers the law punitive and unjust, and that it must be challenged.

“We cannot have 28 states, each with their own immigration laws,” he said.

The crowd, waving American flags, recited the Pledge of Allegiance, sang the national anthem and stood for a moment of silence. Many carried signs with messages decrying the law’s impact on families.

“Give me my rights back, give me my identity back, but most of all, give me my family back,” one sign read.

Juan Luna of Oklahoma City came to the rally to oppose the law because although he is a citizen, “I’m feeling what the people feel.” Luna said members of the Hispanic community are worried about their families, and about the separation of children from their parents. “The U.S. needs to look for a different way to fix these problems,” he said.

Law’s supporters: Terrill, the bill’s author, said he was not aware of any problems with the new law, but that the focus has now turned to monitoring implementation of it.

It’s likely some legislation will be filed next session to “tweak” various aspects of the law.

Terrill addressed the opponents’ fear that the law will separate families, saying that he is aware of the concern.

“I think that some of their scenarios that they put forth from time to time are highly improbable,” Terrill said.

“And to the extent they do occur, they really have no one to blame but themselves. They are the ones who made the decision to either voluntarily come here or remain here in violation of federal immigration law.”

The rally did attract a handful of supporters of Oklahoma’s immigration law, including Scott Grass of Mustang, who said that while he sympathized with the concern for families, the country cannot have open borders, especially with the state of the world and age of terrorism.

Tulsa news conference: Earlier in the day at a news conference in Tulsa, the Rev. Miguel Rivera, president of the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders, said a U.S. citizen had been arrested in Tulsa County for transporting her boyfriend, who was an illegal alien.

But Tulsa County Undersheriff Brian Edwards said he wasn’t aware of anyone being arrested in Tulsa County for violating the provisions of the new law.

Edwards said the sheriff’s office is only checking the residency status of people who are arrested, not victims or witnesses.

Rivera and the Rev. Victor Orta said they have faith that U.S. District Judge James Payne will eventually declare the law unconstitutional.

A challenge to the law is pending before Payne, who refused to issue a preliminary injunction to block the law Wednesday.

Rivera said he expects a ruling from Payne in the next two months.

“We have a lot of faith in Judge James Payne, and I think he will do the right thing for the state of Oklahoma,” he said.

If Payne does not rule their way, Rivera said his group is ready to take the case to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals or the U.S. Supreme Court.

No problems reported: Trooper Betsy Randolph, a spokeswoman for the Department of Public Safety, said that no problems had been reported as a result of the implementation of HB 1804.

“We haven’t had any problems so far,” she said. “And we don’t anticipate them.”

Randolph said that no one should be afraid to bring in their documents to request an identification card.

“What we don’t want is immigrants thinking that if they come to DPS to get an ID card they’re going to be arrested on the spot,” she said. Also, earlier in the day, Clark Curry, an Oklahoma leader of the John Birch Society, delivered to Gov. Brad Henry’s office a petition opposing amnesty and benefits for undocumented immigrants. The petition, which called on members of Congress to reject amnesty, included 2,700 signatures gathered at the 2006 Oklahoma State Fair.

World City Editor Wayne Greene contributed to this story.

Angel Riggs (405) 528-2465
angel.riggs@tulsaworld.com