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OKC immigration attorneys flooded with questions about controversial bill

The newly signed law allows local law enforcement to imprison and then remove undocumented immigrants in Oklahoma

OKC immigration attorneys flooded with questions about controversial bill

The newly signed law allows local law enforcement to imprison and then remove undocumented immigrants in Oklahoma

LIVE. DAKOTA WARR ACRES KOCO FIVE NEWS. HAVING A LAW LIKE THIS TURNS EVERYBODY’S LIFE A LITTLE BIT UPSIDE DOWN. OKLAHOMA CITY IMMIGRATION ATTORNEYS SAY THEY HAVE BEEN FLOODED WITH QUESTIONS EVER SINCE A CONTROVERSIAL IMMIGRATION BILL WAS SIGNED INTO LAW BY GOVERNOR KEVIN STITT. NOW, LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT WILL BE ALLOWED TO IN PRISON AND THEN REMOVE UNDER DOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS IN OUR STATE. OF COURSE, IMMIGRATION IS USUALLY HANDLED NOT LOCALLY, BUT AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL. KOCO ZACH RAEL JOINING US RIGHT NOW, ZACH, WE’VE WE’VE ALREADY SEEN PUSHBACK ON THIS, INCLUDING FROM LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT. YEAH. EVAN. ABBY, AS YOU KNOW, WE HAD OKLAHOMA CITY POLICE CHIEF WADE GOURLEY ON OUR AIR SAYING THAT HE’S NOT EVEN SURE HOW A LAW LIKE THIS IS EVEN ENFORCEABLE. LAWYERS WHO SPECIALIZE IN IMMIGRATION LAW AGREE WITH HIM. WE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT IT MEANS. AND I MEAN THAT SERIOUSLY. LIKE WHEN YOU READ THE LANGUAGE OF THE LAW, IT LEAVES A LOT OF CONFUSION. MELISSA LUJAN, AN IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY IN OKLAHOMA CITY, SAYS THAT PEOPLE ARE NOT ONLY CONFUSED BUT ANGRY AT THE PASSAGE OF HOUSE BILL 4156. THE LAW WOULD HAVE OKLAHOMA LAW ENFORCEMENT ARREST AND REMOVE UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS IN THE STATE. PEOPLE HAVE ALREADY TOLD US, I HAD ONE CLIENT VERY EMPHATICALLY SAY, IF THIS LAW PASSES, I’M PACKING MY KIDS UP AND WE’RE GOING. WE’RE NOT LIVING LIKE SECOND CLASS CITIZENS. LUJAN SAYS HER CLIENTS ARE WORRIED ON WHAT THIS WOULD MEAN FOR THEM, SINCE MANY ARE GOING THROUGH THE LEGAL PROCESS OF BECOMING CITIZENS, IT HAS THEM CONCERNED FOR THEIR SAFETY. WE’RE IN THIS PROCESS OF IMMIGRATION THAT TAKES MANY, MANY, MANY YEARS. IMMIGRATION KNOWS WE’RE HERE. BUT WHAT IS THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA GOING TO DO TO US WHILE WE’RE WAITING TO TRY TO LEGALIZE OUR STATUS? ANOTHER WORRY THIS WILL DISCOURAGE UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS FROM CALLING 911 FOR HELP. IF I’M UNDOCUMENTED NOW, AM I GOING TO BE ABLE TO CALL THE POLICE? BECAUSE IF I CALL THE POLICE, ARE THEY GOING TO ARREST ME FOR BEING GUILTY OF A CRIME THAT ALSO HAS OKLAHOMA CITY POLICE CHIEF WADE GOURLEY CONCERNED, TOO? THE CHIEF SHARING HIS THOUGHTS DURING OUR 9 A.M. NEWSCAST ON WEDNESDAY, WE STRUGGLE RIGHT NOW, GETTING PEOPLE THAT ARE IN THOSE COMMUNITIES WHERE THEY MAY BE UNDOCUMENTED, THAT TO REPORT CRIMES AND THEY’RE HEAVILY VICTIMIZED BECAUSE CRIMINALS KNOW THAT. THE CHIEF SAYS THAT HE’S WORRIED THIS LAW COULD ALSO LEAD TO RACIAL PROFILING. WE’RE ALL VERY CONCERNED ABOUT IT AND HOW WE’RE GOING TO ENFORCE THIS. THE DEMAND IT’S GOING TO PUT ON OUR PERSONNEL. SO HOW DO YOU DO IT WITHOUT RACIALLY PROFILING, ESPECIALLY THE WAY THE LAW IS WRITTEN? WE TOOK THOSE CONCERNS TO THE OKLAHOMA CITY FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE. I THINK OUR OFFICERS ARE PROFESSIONAL ENOUGH THAT THEY WILL NOT LEAD TO THAT. OUR OFFICERS WILL GO OUT AND THEY WILL ACT ACCORDING TO THEIR TRAINING, JUST LIKE THEY DO EVERY SINGLE DAY PROFESSIONALLY. ZACH RAEL KOCO FIVE NEWS. YES, THE LAW GOES INTO EFFECT ON JULY 1ST. LUJAN SAYS THAT HE’S TELLING HER. SHE’S TELLING HER CLIENTS TO WAIT BEFORE MAKING ANY MAJOR DECISIONS. ANTICIPATION F
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OKC immigration attorneys flooded with questions about controversial bill

The newly signed law allows local law enforcement to imprison and then remove undocumented immigrants in Oklahoma

Some Oklahoma City immigration attorneys say they have been flooded with questions ever since Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a controversial immigration bill into law.The newly signed law allows local law enforcement to imprison and then remove undocumented immigrants in Oklahoma. Oklahoma City police Chief Wade Gourley said he's not even sure how a law like House Bill 4156 is enforceable, and lawyers who specialize in immigration law agree. "We would like to know what it means. And I mean that seriously. When you read the language of the law, it leaves a lot of confusion," said Melissa Lujan, an immigration attorney in Oklahoma City.Lujan's clients are not only confused but also angry about the passage of House Bill 4156. "I had one client emphatically say, 'If this law passes, we are packing our things up, and we are going. We are not living like second-class citizens,'" Lujan said.Many of her clients, currently in the process of becoming citizens, are concerned for their safety. "We are in this process of immigration that takes many, many, many years. Immigration knows we are here," Lujan said. "But what is the state of Oklahoma going to do to us while we are waiting to try and legalize our status?"She also expressed concern that the law might discourage undocumented immigrants from calling 911. "If I am undocumented right now, am I going to be able to call the police? Because if I call the police, are they going to arrest me for being guilty of a crime?" Lujan asked.Gourley shares these concerns. "We struggle right now getting people that are in those communities that might be undocumented to report crimes, and they're heavily victimized because criminals know that," Gourley said.He also expressed worry that the law could lead to racial profiling. "We're all very concerned about it. How we're going to enforce this? The demand it's going to put on our personnel. How do you do it without racially profiling? Especially the way the law is written," Gourley said.Mark Nelson, the president of the Oklahoma City Fraternal Order of Police, however, believes that officers will handle the situation professionally. "I think our officers are professional enough that they will not lead to that. Our officers will go out and act according to their training, just like they do every single day – professionally," Nelson said.The law is set to go into effect on July 1. Lujan is advising her clients to wait before making any major decisions in anticipation of legal challenges to the new law.Top Headlines Authorities search for three inmates in Anadarko after escaping from Caddo County Jail Thousands of Oklahomans at risk of losing affordable internet due to program's upcoming end Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper involved in crash near Stillwater Flying during Memorial Day weekend? Here are some gadgets that can help make it a smooth ride Cyberattack forces major US health care network to divert ambulances from hospitals

Some Oklahoma City immigration attorneys say they have been flooded with questions ever since Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a controversial immigration bill into law.

The newly signed law allows local law enforcement to imprison and then remove undocumented immigrants in Oklahoma. Oklahoma City police Chief Wade Gourley said he's not even sure how a law like House Bill 4156 is enforceable, and lawyers who specialize in immigration law agree.

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"We would like to know what it means. And I mean that seriously. When you read the language of the law, it leaves a lot of confusion," said Melissa Lujan, an immigration attorney in Oklahoma City.

Lujan's clients are not only confused but also angry about the passage of House Bill 4156.

"I had one client emphatically say, 'If this law passes, we are packing our things up, and we are going. We are not living like second-class citizens,'" Lujan said.

Many of her clients, currently in the process of becoming citizens, are concerned for their safety.

"We are in this process of immigration that takes many, many, many years. Immigration knows we are here," Lujan said. "But what is the state of Oklahoma going to do to us while we are waiting to try and legalize our status?"

She also expressed concern that the law might discourage undocumented immigrants from calling 911.

"If I am undocumented right now, am I going to be able to call the police? Because if I call the police, are they going to arrest me for being guilty of a crime?" Lujan asked.

Gourley shares these concerns.

"We struggle right now getting people that are in those communities that might be undocumented to report crimes, and they're heavily victimized because criminals know that," Gourley said.

He also expressed worry that the law could lead to racial profiling.

"We're all very concerned about it. How we're going to enforce this? The demand it's going to put on our personnel. How do you do it without racially profiling? Especially the way the law is written," Gourley said.

Mark Nelson, the president of the Oklahoma City Fraternal Order of Police, however, believes that officers will handle the situation professionally.

"I think our officers are professional enough that they will not lead to that. Our officers will go out and act according to their training, just like they do every single day – professionally," Nelson said.

The law is set to go into effect on July 1. Lujan is advising her clients to wait before making any major decisions in anticipation of legal challenges to the new law.


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