Terrill:
OKLAHOMA CITY – The principal author of Oklahoma’s immigration law thinks a new executive order issued by President Bush undermines last week’s federal court order temporarily blocking enforcement of parts of the law.
An official with the National Chamber Litigation Center, representing one of the plaintiff groups challenging the law, disagrees.
State Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore, issued a statement Tuesday saying that Bush’s order requires anyone contracting with the federal government to use the E-Verify system to check on the work status of employees.
“Judge (Robin) Cauthron claimed federal law does not allow the use of E-Verify to ensure an employee is a legal citizen or resident of the United States, but now President Bush has ordered federal officials to use the system for that explicit purpose,” Terrill said. “It’s clear the judge’s decision was based on an incorrect reading of the law.”
Not so, says Robin Conrad, executive vice president of the Washington, D.C.-based chamber litigation center.
The executive order in no way undermines the court order, “which properly recognized the ‘substantial likelihood’ that HB 1804 is pre-empted by federal law,” Conrad said Wednesday in an e-mailed reply to Terrill’s contention.
“As the court correctly held, federal law expressly prevents states from acting in this domain,” Conrad said.
The president’s order relates only to the ability of the federal government to mandate use of the Basic Pilot program by its own contractors, “but says nothing whatsoever to suggest that states may do so,” she added.
Conrad also said that the executive order is only the first step in a lengthy administrative process.
“There are serious doubts about its legality,” she said, “and, at the end of the day, it is for the federal courts to interpret federal law, not the executive branch.”
Last week, U.S. District Judge Robin Cauthron issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of certain portions of the state immigration law that are scheduled to take effect July 1.
The Chamber of Commerce of the United States and several Oklahoma chamber and business groups are challenging those sections’ legality.
Some challenged language requires businesses to verify the work-authorization status of independent contractors or be required to withhold state income taxes at the top marginal rate.
Another section under challenge requires contractors who want to do business with the state to participate in a status-verification system for new hires.
Other parts of the law have been in effect since November of last year.
Terrill said that Cauthron’s ruling is inconsistent with decisions from other jurisdictions.
“Now President Bush’s executive order makes it obvious the judge’s ruling was wrong and should be overturned,” the lawmaker said.
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