HB 1446: Changing immigration laws in Oklahoma

Recently this year a Republican representative by the name of Goerge Faught proposed HB 1446. Currently, the bill is on hold, but has been passed to the discussion stages by both the Oklahoma House of Representatives and the Senate. It is based off of strict new laws in Arizona and other border states.

I found the wording of the bill on the Oklahoma legislature website and read through it. Here are basic points I obtained from the bill that apply directly to immigration:

• It is unlawful for anyone to transport an alien in furtherance of their presence in the United States, whether knowingly or unknowingly.
• It is unlawful for anyone to conceal an alien in the state of Oklahoma, whether knowingly or unknowingly.
• It is unlawful for anyone to tamper with their documents.
• It is unlawful for anyone to smuggle human beings for profit or commercial purposes.
• It is unlawful for aliens to try to get a job.
• It is unlawful for employers to hire aliens

The bill also talked about a lot of things not directly related to immigration. It gave punishments and fines for breaking the laws as well, and it clarified some of the wordings in the measures that could be misunderstood.

The bill also talked about the right of law enforcement agents to demand documents from people, a major issue in the bill proposed by Arizona.