“Ooooklahoma…

…where the wingnuts spread across the plain.
And the laws they pass will smell like ass;
While the brown folk are targeted for pain.”

Alright, I’ll spare you the rest of my pre-caffeinated lyrical desecration.  Not that there isn’t good reason for it:

An Oklahoma State House of Representatives committee approved a strict immigration bill on Wednesday for a full vote in the Oklahoma House. The Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2007 [HB 1804 text, DOC] seeks to prevent illegal immigrants from obtaining state identification, and would require all state and local agencies to verify citizenship status of applicants before authorizing benefits. The bill would also require public employers to enter job applicants into an electronic immigration database to verify legal status, and would repeal a 2003 law that permits illegal immigrants to attend state colleges at in-state tuition levels.

sígame…
It looks like my former state of residence is going the way of Georgia.  Let’s review the consequences.

  • less people will have any form of identification.
  • racial profiling will run rampant anytime a “suspected” undocumented immigrant seeks any type of assistance from the state or local government.
  • more databases of identification information will be collected by the government, and we all know how secure that information remains.
  • less educational opportunities will be offered to people already residing in the state.

Of course, these bullets (pun intended), hold true no matter where sweeping legislation like this is enacted.  They are usually accompanied with some type of dog whistle bill that signals to all the white folk that the American™ culture is under assault.  The Okies in the State Legislature, like good little TancredoBots, are following the plan to a T:

The Oklahoma legislature is also now considering the Oklahoma English Language Act [HB 1423 text, DOC], which would require all official business of the state to be conducted in English, with exceptions. AP has more.

Oh, the irony.  I wonder if they’ll get rid of the peace pipe and non-assimilated feathers on the state flag too?

Brand new state!
Brand new state, gonna treat you great!

Not.

Crossposted from Latino Político

Author: Man Eegee

30-something Xicano Democrat in Tucson, Arizona. I have a passion for social justice issues as well as seeking to help ignite a productive dialog regarding immigration reform. Lately I spend most of my time on Tw