Update: In June 2024, the Court temporarily blocked HB 4156, which was set to take effect on July 1. It is now on hold as the case is litigated. NILC’s lawsuit has been consolidated with the federal government’s challenge to HB 4156 in United States v. State of Oklahoma.
Case Overview
In May 2024, the National Immigration Law Center and co-counsels filed a lawsuit, challenging Oklahoma’s law, HB 4156, as unconstitutional. In this case, we represent the Oklahoma-based organization Padres Unidos, and an individual plaintiff who came to the United States nearly 20 years ago as a 1-year-old.
HB 4156 conflicts with existing immigration laws by usurping federal control over the immigration system, regulating people’s entry into the United States, and banishing people from Oklahoma who have a federal right to remain here. Under HB 4156, entire categories of immigrants would be barred from entering the state, or could be ordered to leave, even if they are pursuing asylum or other lawful immigration status.
In this case, our plaintiff has lived in Oklahoma her whole life and her entire family — including her parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and U.S.-citizen siblings — all live nearby. She could be prosecuted and removed from Oklahoma under this new law and separated from her entire family and the only place she has called home.
HB 4156 is based largely on S.B. 4, the Texas immigration law that NILC has also challenged in a separate case.
Legal Documents
Federal Court Strikes Down Trump’s Discriminatory 75-Country Visa Ban
Published Aug 21, 2026 In a major victory for families, fairness, and the rule of law, a federal court in New York struck down the Trump administration’s blanket, nationality-based “public charge” ban on immigrant visa processing for people from 75...
CLINIC v. Rubio
This lawsuit challenges the Trump administration’s sweeping suspension of immigrant visa processing for people from 75 countries.
Last update: Aug 21, 2026
Community Alert: Traveling on “advance parole” now triggers 3- and 10-year bars
Published Aug 17, 2026 The Board of Immigration Appeals has changed the consequences of traveling on “advance parole.” If you are thinking about traveling outside the U.S. on “advance parole” and you have been in the U.S. without permission for 180+ days, now...
NILC Statement on ICE’s Plan to Buy Electric Shock Gloves
Published Aug 12, 2026 Kica Matos, president of the National Immigration Law Center, issued the following statement in response to reports that ICE is planning to spend up to $20 million on electric shock...
Nicholas Espíritu
NILC Deputy Legal Director