Federal Judge Blocks Oklahoma From Enforcing Immigration Law

The judge’s order is in effect for 14 days, for now, with an extension possible.

Galveston Lt. Constable Paul Edinburgh arrests a man from Oklahoma for allegedly smuggling six illegal immigrants from the U.S.–Mexico border through Kinney County, Texas, on Aug. 28, 2022. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times

A federal judge on May 20 blocked Oklahoma from enforcing a law that empowers state law enforcement to arrest and imprison illegal immigrants.

The law, Oklahoma House Bill 4156, also requires illegal immigrants convicted under the law to leave Oklahoma within three days.

U.S. District Judge Bernard Jones said the state law is likely preempted by federal immigration statutes.

“Based on the comprehensive and exhaustive immigration framework that Congress designed, the Court is left with one conclusion: H.B. 4156 must fail,” Jones wrote in a 31-page decision.

He entered a temporary restraining order preventing Oklahoma officials from enforcing the law for 14 days.

Jones said he may extend the block.

The ruling also provisionally created two classes of plaintiffs. One class consists of illegal immigrants who could be charged under the new law with impermissible occupation, meaning that they are in the country illegally and living in Oklahoma. 

The other consists of illegal immigrants who were deported and reentered the country.

The Hispanic and Latino rights groups involved in the lawsuit argued that the state immigration system unconstitutionally undermined the federal system.

“HB 4156 puts immigrants in Oklahoma at tremendous risk, and we are grateful that the court has reaffirmed that the law is unconstitutional and temporarily blocked its implementation,” Noor Zafar, a senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing plaintiffs, said in a statement.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond criticized the ruling.

“It is outrageous that Oklahoma is once again prohibited from enforcement of HB 4156,” Drummond said in a statement. “This commonsense measure ... is critical in our efforts to shut down illegal marijuana grows, fentanyl distribution, and other illegal activities.”

The U.S. Department of Justice and organizations filed separate legal challenges of the law in 2024. The challenges were consolidated, and Jones ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, issuing a preliminary injunction blocking the law’s enforcement. After President Donald Trump took office, the U.S. government dismissed its case.

The organizations then filed an amended complaint, asking for relief. That prompted the May 20 ruling.

The plaintiffs include two Mexican nationals who are illegal immigrants and reside in Oklahoma, according to court filings. They used pseudonyms in the case because of fear that they would be arrested and deported.

“Once the Trump Administration withdrew the previous administration’s objection to the law, law enforcement in our state was able to breathe a sigh of relief that Oklahoma finally would have agency to protect the public,” Drummond said. “It is bewildering that this law again hangs in the balance while nameless lawbreakers are allowed to halt enforcement of HB 4156.”