COMPLAINT - PADRES UNIDOS DE TULSA v. DRUMMOND

OKLAHOMA CITY – Today, civil rights groups filed an amended complaint with a motion for a temporary restraining order seeking to block Oklahoma’s HB 4156, a harmful law that would create a state system to regulate immigration that undermines the exclusively federal system Congress enacted. HB 4156 usurps federal control over immigration law by subjecting certain groups of noncitizens to arrest and prosecution who have a federal right to remain here. Under the law, large swaths of immigrants would be barred from entering the state – or could be ordered to leave – even if they are legally pursuing asylum or other lawful immigration status. The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Oklahoma, National Immigration Law Center, and law firm Rivas & Associates previously filed a lawsuit in May of 2024 on behalf of the Oklahoma-based organization Padres Unidos de Tulsa and several individual plaintiffs who live in the state. The lawsuit was consolidated with a similar challenge filed by the United States. The law was set to take effect on July 1, 2024, but the court granted the United States’s request for an injunction. With the onset of the Trump administration, the United States dismissed its challenge. Civil rights groups have now filed an amended lawsuit with additional plaintiffs, including the League of United Latin American Citizens Oklahoma City (“LULAC-OKC”), in an effort to enjoin the law once more. “We are fighting once more against this harmful law, which the court already enjoined last year as unconstitutional” said Noor Zafar, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project. “Every day that HB 4156 is in effect, it puts immigrants in Oklahoma at risk of arrest, detention, and banishment from the state and undermines the federal immigration system that Congress set up. We are using every legal tool available to stop this law from tearing apart communities across Oklahoma.” “People who are immigrants are part of our families, communities, workplaces and places of worship,” said Tamya Cox-Touré, executive director for the ACLU of Oklahoma. “Like many of our families, they join the long American tradition of coming here in search of a better life and freedom. HB 4156 is one of the most extreme anti-immigrant bills ever to be passed by any state. Our local law enforcement lacks the expertise and the constitutional authority to interpret and enforce immigration law, putting all community members at risk – citizen or not. We will continue to fight for the rights and dignity of immigrants and their families. ” “LULAC is proud to stand against HB 4156,” said Nicole Maldonado, President of LULAC Oklahoma. “This bill doesn’t solve any real issues. It unfairly targets our LULAC family and undocumented immigrants, instilling fear in our communities. We need solutions that build trust and uplift hardworking families, not policies that punish people seeking a better life.” “For Padres Unidos de Tulsa, this lawsuit is deeply personal,” said Michelle Lara, President of Padres Unidos de Tulsa. “It's not just about a piece of legislation; it strikes at the heart of our community: our children, our neighbors, our families. Like so many others across the country, we refuse to be intimidated or live in fear of these anti-immigrant bills. We are taking this action because this policy will undeniably harm a community already struggling with significant hurdles. Our schools are underfunded and misdirected. As a state, we face high rates of incarceration. Our community experiences poor health outcomes. To enact a law that further marginalizes us, that seems to question our very right to exist, is wrong. We are parents, we are your neighbors, and we are determined. We will not back down from this fight for our community's future.” “We are committed to standing side by side with our immigrant community and ensuring that such an unfair and punitive law is stopped before it further harms Oklahomans,” said Lorena Rivas, an attorney with the Tulsa-based law firm Rivas & Associates. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.