Washington, D.C. — A U.S. Supreme Court decision today that upheld an Arizona law also supports a key provision of House Bill 1804, Oklahoma’s landmark anti-illegal immigration law.
“Facing a federal government that is hostile to a state’s right to defend itself from the ongoing illegal alien invasion, today’s Supreme Court ruling not only confirms Arizona’s right to protect its workers from illegal labor, but also validates the work many of us have been doing to find state-level solutions to the national government’s willful dereliction of its constitutional duty to protect our borders,” said state Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore and author of House Bill 1804.
The court upheld an Arizona law requiring employers to use the federal E-verify system to determine if workers are legal residents of the United States as a condition of employment. A similar provision was enacted in Oklahoma through House Bill 1804 that applied to public employers and government contractors.
“The court’s majority decision carves out a greater role for states to crack down on illegal immigration than what opponents of these measures would like you to believe,” Terrill said. “The decision is very clearly a blow to those who disingenuously claim federal pre-emption blocks action in these areas and a victory for those supporting states’ rights to enact initiatives that protect their own citizens and taxpayers. The Supreme Court’s decision today indicates that if states want to mandate the use of E-verify for all businesses, they certainly can do so.”






