Anna Pope (OSU)
The House of Representatives final bill of the day, OU-511 passed with an 18-2 majority and will be heard in the Senate Chamber. Written by Rep. Kayla Gillespie, OU-511 would prevent local law enforcement from cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
According to ICE and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) there are three counties in the state of Oklahoma with 287 Program agreements. If this bill is written into law, each county with the program in place will be required to put an end to its agreements. The law will also further prevent any other agencies from entering into an agreement with local law enforcement in the future.
In her author’s explanation, Gillespie said there are many reasons why she decided to write her bill over this issue. She said one of the reasons she wants to do away with these agreements is because the 287 Program does not perform its intended purpose. Gillespie said the program is supposed to target people who have committed violent and high-level offences. However, in her research she said many people that have been targeted only committed minor offences.
“People are being targeted who aren’t really doing anything wrong,” Gillespie said.
Gillespie said she was excited to present the bill because she wrote it last session, but it did not pass committee. After questioning the house took a break to caucus and during that time Gillespie said her inspiration for this bill stems from her passion for law immigration law.
“I don’t have like a deep personal story or anything,” Gillespie said. “I want to be an attorney when I get older and I knew I wanted to be able to do something with (write a bill over) immigration law. It’s difficult because a lot of things end up at a federal level, but this is something that can be fixed on the state level.”