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
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U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma
- Order (PDF) – June 28, 2024
- Complaint (PDF) – May 23, 2024
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Nicholas Espíritu
NILC Deputy Legal Director