Oklahoma's Ethnic Cleansing Part I

Two German Jewish boys wearing the yellow star.






The Oklahoman posted an editorial earlier this week admonishing Latino activists for comparing HB 1804 to ethnic cleansing in Kosovo and Darfur.

It is supposed to be an insult to compare them. This conclusion has been made before when the current nativism is compared to the Holocaust.

Of course, at this moment, they are not totally the same. But if you recall, there were many different stages before they arrived to their horrible end. Where was Germany at this time when the Jews were beginning to be rounded up? If I recall correctly there were raids in Germany too.

And as for the yellow star Jews had to wear in Germany... the state of NY is working on a different kind of yellow star.... the driver's license that singles out people who are undocumented.

For those baby-boomers who may remember the film The Diary of Anne Frank - their family was turned in by a neighbor. They were taken away and all died but Anne Frank's father.

What activists are trying to do is help keep the U.S. from this sort of tragedy. Unfortunately by not correcting the false statement about how much immigrants cost the state of Oklahoma, The Oklahoman is encouraging a bad ending.

November 3, 2007
Officers see few changes from law
By Ron Jackson and Julie Bisbee
Staff Writers
The Oklahoman


House Bill 1804, one of the stiffest illegal immigration laws in the U.S. arrived with a collective shrug from those called to enforce it.

"As far as I'm concerned, it's going to be business as usual,” said Scott Jay, Beckham County sheriff. "I don't see where it's going to have any impact at all on local law enforcement.”


The law requires local law enforcement officers to check the immigration status of anyone arrested for a felony or a DUI in a federal database known as the Status Verification System. Those who prove to be undocumented and are arrested for a crime are then required to be jailed without bail and reported to federal agents.

Jay and other authorities claim that process has been ongoing across Oklahoma under federal law.

"I'm already getting calls from citizens saying so-and-so is illegal and so-and-so is illegal,” Jay said. "I think there is a misconception by a lot of citizens who think we are now going to go out, round up all the illegal immigrants and shoot them back down to Mexico. That's just not going to happen.

"We don't have the time, the facilities or the manpower.”

In fiscal year 2007, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported 7,400 illegal immigrants from its Dallas area district, which includes Oklahoma. Of those deported, agency spokesman Carl Rusnok said 4,950 had been convicted of a crime.

"We already work very closely with local law enforcement agencies in Oklahoma,” Rusnok said. "Will we get more calls for deportation because of this new law? Who knows? If so, we'll accommodate as we can ...

"But, as always, we will prioritize our resources.”

‘We deal with that'
Roger Mills County Sheriff Joe Hay already thinks the new law creates a great dilemma for him.

"I've got a 28-bed jail with 22 prisoners already in there,” Hay said. "Now I'm sworn to uphold the law, but where am I supposed to put them?”

Hay points to another aspect of the new law — one that makes the employment of an illegal immigrant or renting a home to an illegal immigrant a crime. That part of the law will go into effect July 1.

"We've got a feed mill over here filled with illegal immigrants,” Hay said. "Twenty-eight Social Security cards kicked back as not matching those workers. How do I know? The feds told me so.

"So do we go in and shut that place down? There are no American citizens around here who will work those jobs. They (American citizens) are all in the oil field making $80,000 a year.”

While immigration advocates rallied against the new law Thursday, law enforcement in Tulsa spent the day quashing rumors that a woman was arrested for driving her illegal immigrant boyfriend. The alleged incident was reported by Miguel Rivera, president of the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders, according to the Tulsa World.

"That's just urban legend,” Tulsa County deputy Catherine Curtain said. "That's absolutely not true.”

Tulsa County is the only county in the state that has a partnership with Immigration, Customs and Enforcement to track the immigration status of people arrested for crimes, Undersheriff Brian Edwards said.

ICE agents are at the county jail and assist with deportation proceedings for illegal immigrants jailed for crimes. The county has been checking immigration status since June, Edwards said.

Thirty Tulsa County deputies have been trained to aid in immigration enforcement. Despite increased personnel to handle immigration, Edwards said no one will be targeted because police suspect they weren't legally born in the country.

"For us to go door-to-door checking everybody's paper is physically impossible,” Edwards said. "We deal with people who commit crimes. If they are in the country illegally, we deal with that.”

‘Trying to figure it out'
In Enid, officers won't add immigration enforcement to their list of duties, Capt. Dean Grassino said.

"We're not rounding people up,” Grassino said. "We'll cooperate. If they do an immigration enforcement action, we'll assist. But we're not going to send officers out to businesses to check workers' papers and stuff. That's stuff we're not going to do.”

Grassino said when a person is arrested and taken to jail the immigration status is verified. When the status can't be verified, officials make a call to immigration enforcement.

In Texas County, where a large number of immigrant workers have jobs at hog farms, Sheriff Arnold Peoples said Oklahoma's new law isn't going to change how his deputies do their job.

"We're not doing anything different than we've been doing since 1992,” Peoples said.

As part of the booking process at Peoples' jail, deputies check each prisoner's immigration status. If they are in the country illegally, prisoners are held for a statutory maximum of 72 hours. If federal immigration officers don't arrive before that time, the prisoner must be released.

"As far as the law, we'll do whatever the district attorney advises us to do, but we're still trying to figure it out,” Peoples said.

Peoples compared the new law to "sticking your finger in the hole in the dam.”

On the local school front, the new law also ushered in concerns over whether the children of illegal immigrants would be pulled from classes. Administrators in the Guymon Public Schools — 60.4 percent Hispanic — braced for the unknown.

Nothing happened.

"It had no effect on us,” said Doug Melton, Guymon superintendent. "Usually when there has been a big drop off in attendance, they let me know. But I never got any calls.”

‘Districts are exempt'
State schools Superintendent Sandy Garrett sent a memo to superintendents statewide Sept. 20, stating, "While the new law requires certain agencies to check the legal status of individuals seeking services, school districts are exempt from this requirement.”

School administrators, however, will be required to use the federal database after July 1 like any other employer to verify the citizenship status of prospective workers.

The new bill also prohibits anyone from collecting social services without documentation to verify citizenship. Yet little, if any, change appears to be on the horizon in that regard.

Since July, a federal law has required all applicants to show a "one-time proof of citizenship” to state Department of Human Services officials before qualifying for SoonerCare or food stamps.

All applicants need to prove citizenship are documents such as a birth certificate, driver license, or state ID — documents state agents have long said can be easily purchased underground.

"Obviously, many people will produce very, very good fakes,” said Mary Leaver, a DHS spokeswoman.

"We're not experts, but our staff does know what to look for since they are familiar with those documents. But, actually, We don't foresee any changes.”

Last year, illegal immigrants costs Oklahoma taxpayers more than $9.7 million in SoonerCare, Leaver said.

http://newsok.com/article/3163120/?print=1

photo: http://www.twafa.org.uk/Fascism/images/2boys.gif