Injunction sought to block law
BY DAVID HARPER World Staff Writer
Saturday, October 20, 2007
A Hispanic group
wants to prevent a
state immigration
law from taking
effect Nov. 1.
The National Coalition of
Latino Clergy has filed an
emergency motion for a preliminary injunction that would
stop a strict new state law
against illegal immigration
from going into effect Nov. 1.
In the motion, filed electronically after business hours on
Thursday, the plaintiffs asked
for a hearing on their motion
as soon as possible.
A preliminary injunction would prevent enforcement of
House Bill 1804 until the federal court has had a chance to
fully analyze the plaintiffs'
claims.
The plaintiffs say they will
suffer irreparable injury unless the court issues an injunction before Nov. 1, when the
law is scheduled to go into effect.
The request had been anticipated since the lawsuit
against Gov. Brad Henry and
Attorney General Drew Edmondson was filed Monday in
U.S. District Court in Tulsa.
The suit alleges that the
new law is unconstitutional
and violates illegal immigrants' rights to due process.
HB 1804's co-authors, Rep.
Randy Terrill, R-Moore, and
Sen. Jim Williamson, R-Tulsa,
have said they are confident
the measure will withstand
such a legal challenge.
In their latest motion, the
plaintiffs -- who include illegal immigrants identified only
as "John Doe" and "Jane Doe"
-- argue that their claims
meet the criteria used by the
courts when deciding whether
to grant an injunction.
They argue that an injunction would not be adverse to
public interest and that the
threatened injury to them outweighs whatever damage the
proposed injunction might
cause the opposing party.
The plaintiffs also argue that
they have a substantial likelihood of eventually prevailing
on the merits of their case.
They claim that "several
other state and municipal attempts to regulate immigration have either foundered or
partially foundered in the
courts" in states such as California and Pennsylvania.
In the latter case, U.S. District Judge James Munley
blocked the city of Hazleton,
Pa., from enforcing a crackdown on illegal immigrants.
A pair of measures approved by the Hazleton City
Council would have fined landlords who rent to illegal immigrants, denied business permits to companies that hire
them, and required tenants to
register with City Hall and pay
for a rental permit.
Munley ruled that the measures were pre-empted by federal law and would breach
due-process rights.
"Hazleton, in its zeal to control the presence of a group
deemed undesirable, violated
the rights of such people, as
well as others within the community," Munley wrote in a
206-page opinion.
"Since the United States
Constitution protects even the
disfavored, the ordinances
cannot be enforced," Munley
wrote in July.
In September, the city of
Riverside, N.J., rescinded a
year-old ordinance intended to
punish employers and landlords who hired or housed illegal immigrants there. City officials decided it would be too
expensive to defend in court.
Despite such developments,
Terrill has been quoted as saying he's "not worried in the
least" about the claims in the
Oklahoma lawsuit.
Rev. Miguel Rivera, president of the coalition pursuing
the Tulsa lawsuit, said Monday that the complaint named
Edmondson as a defendant because he said the attorney
general hasn't acted on requests to issue an opinion on
the law's constitutionality.
Charlie Price, a spokesman
for Edmondson's office, said
Friday that staff attorneys are
analyzing the specific claims
made by the plaintiffs in the
federal lawsuit.
He said those legal issues
will be left for the federal court
to decide. Any HB 1804 issues
not before a federal judge
would be eligible to be addressed in an opinion ren
dered by Edmondson, Price
said.
David Harper 581-8359
david.harper@tulsaworld.com
WHAT IS HB1804?
The law, which is scheduled
to take effect Nov. 1, targets
illegal immigration in
Oklahoma. It will:
- Ban illegal immigrants
from state government
identification.
- End most public
assistance and entitlement
benefits for illegal
immigrants.
- Authorize state and local
law enforcement officials to
enforce federal immigration
law.
- Penalize employers for
knowingly hiring illegal
immigrants.
- Penalize anyone who
knowingly transports or
harbors illegal immigrants.
