Carol Helm with Immigration Reform for Oklahoma Now (IRON), a citizens grassroots group from Jenks, presented officers and others with plaques in honor of their efforts in a recent case in which eight illegal immigrants were arrested and deported in early January.
Before the presentation, Helm and others spoke to a group of about 20 people about immigration in Oklahoma.
Helm said not only is illegal immigration a federal problem, but it is also a local and state problem. Helm pointed to the financial impact on the state due to illegal immigrants, such as the underground economy in which she indicated that illegal immigrants work under false identities and are not subject to taxes, which pay for education, roads, and public assistance.
Helm said IRON has about 2,000 members in Oklahoma, who pushed for Oklahoma's illegal immigration bill, House Bill 1804, which took effect in November. HB 1804 is known as the Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2007, which takes a hard stance on immigration. The new law restricts the ability of illegal immigrants to obtain legal government identification or public assistance. It also gives police the authority to enforce federal immigration laws. The law also makes it illegal for U.S. citizens to knowingly provide shelter, transportation or employment to illegal immigrants.
Helm said the group sees illegal immigration as a "threat to sovereignty" and the "American way of life."
She pointed to illegal immigrants accessing fraudulent documents through identity theft and other means, which enables them to get benefits.
"This is your money. This is tax money," Helm said.
A representative from U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn's (R-Okla.) office was also on hand to discuss immigration. He pointed to the need for welfare reform, and not rewarding those who will not work.
John Bennett, illegal immigration liaison officer with District 27 Drug Task Force and the Sequoyah County Sheriff's Office, explained why IRON was recognizing county officials and explained how the events unfolded.
Bennett explained that with the county's waterway and highway interdiction program, law enforcement encountered illegal immigrants. He researched the issue, found HB 1804 and contacted IRON, discovering the economic and social aspects of illegal immigration.
Bennett, who spent 15 years as an active duty Marine, was recently appointed the county's illegal immigration officer. He stressed the importance of teamwork and illustrated the point by asking a jailer to break a small wooden stick into many pieces. He said the stick represented one person or one office. "It's strong by itself, but it can be broken because it's by itself," Bennett said.
He then asked the jailer to bring all the small pieces together and try to break them - a task that the jailer was unable to complete. Bennett said the many pieces represent the many parts of a team, which can't be broken when everyone works together.
Bennett then explained that the incident earlier this month was an example of that teamwork. He said a phone call came into the sheriff's office from a citizen about illegal immigrants near his home and he wanted something done about it.
At that time, Undersheriff Roy Coleman contacted Deputy Greg Cox, who went to the scene and discovered that none of the men spoke English well and only two had identification. Cox contacted Bennett to come to the scene.
After researching the suspects' backgrounds, the officers discovered that all the suspects' state identifications, which were from various states, were fake, Bennett explained.
"Every one of them came back illegal," Bennett said, noting that all the documents looked real. The men had Social Security cards with real numbers, but they didn't belong to the men. Two of the men had previously been deported, and had criminal histories. One had been previously charged with driving under the influence (DUI) and assault, while the other had been charged with DUI and manslaughter.
Deputies Lance Yoakum, Travis Gabbert, and Shane McHale assisted, all utilizing HB 1804. The illegal immigrants were detained and later charged and convicted - making Sequoyah County the first in the state to charge someone according to this particular state law.
Helm recognized the sheriff, deputies, jailers, the judge, and prosecutors for their part in the case.
"You all will be the poster child for the rest of the state," Helm said.
Bennett later added that law enforcement officers are not targeting illegal immigrants. He said if they encounter them in normal line of duty, such as speeding or during the commitment of a crime, law enforcement will check their citizenship and seek to deport them if they are not citizens.
He emphasized it is the law, and the sheriff has no choice, but to enforce that law, as do the prosecutors and judges.
