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May 09, 2007 02:47 pm
Illegal Sooners part of state's history
Editorial: Many Oklahomans of today can still remember when California tried to shut them out by placing guards at the border.
CNHI News Service
— They came by the thousands, entering the land by breaking the rules.
At first there was a huge outcry to send them back, but as time passed and they became productive citizens, it became apparent they could make a contribution and become valuable citizens.
A discussion about illegal immigrants of today? No. It’s a description of those settlers who entered Oklahoma before the official time and gave the state its nickname of “The Sooner State.”
Illegal immigration is the hot topic of the day. And while clearly it is a problem and there needs to be a comprehensive fair-minded policy, it’s also clear it does not need to be done with hot rhetoric designed to appeal to our worst instincts.
Legislation recently passed by the Oklahoma House and Senate and now signed into law by the governor makes it a felony to transport an illegal immigrant. Sounds good until you think about what that does to churches. Churches all over Oklahoma on a regular basis will pick up children and bring them to church on a church bus. That’s transporting. Do we really want to make that a crime? Somehow the thought of Jesus telling his followers not to minister to children doesn’t sound like the God of love. The proposed law also criminalizes numerous other activities so that employers will be at a great risk.
The irony of all this shouldn’t be lost on Oklahomans. Many Oklahomans of today can still remember when California tried to shut them out by placing guards at the border. It’s not altogether a parallel experience, but it’s one that as Oklahomans, given our “sooner” history and our experience with how California treated us, should cause us to take a long sober look at this issue.
The best place for immigration reform to be done is at the federal level. A policy that is consistent throughout the United States and that also attempts to address complicated issues such as longtime residents with children born to them that are now citizens of the United States would be the better approach.
After all, we wouldn’t have a state if it weren’t for our Sooners.
Claremore (Okla.) Progress
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