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Oklahoma law enforcement leaders wrestle with realities of new immigration law

Oklahoma law enforcement leaders wrestle with realities of new immigration law

Local law enforcement agencies in Oklahoma are preparing for the implementation of the state’s new law criminalizing people without legal immigration status. Some agencies refuse to enforce it, others say they have no choice — all agree illegal immigration is a problem. Oklahoma City Police Department Chief Wade Gourley was among the first local law enforcement leaders to oppose the measure. He said his department — the largest in the state — doesn’t have the technological resources to enforce immigration at the scale the new law proposes. People who are arrested and deemed a threat are flagged, held and eventually handed over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, which is responsible for enforcing immigration laws. The law takes effect next week. While Oklahoma is facing two different lawsuits in federal court that may result in a pause in the measure’s enforcement, local police are more likely to be forced to contend with it before that happens. Texas’ SB4, the law that inspired Oklahoma’s measure, is also caught up in federal court. And Iowa, which also passed a similar measure, saw its version of state-level immigration enforcement struck down. 

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