Bills that would ban undocumented students from receiving in-state college tuition, require checking the immigration status of people who apply for social services, and limit critical mineral ownership by foreign adversaries are among those still under consideration at the Oklahoma Legislature.
Only a fraction of almost 50 total bills on immigration and foreign influence introduced this year are still alive halfway through the legislative session. A bill affecting citizenship verification for employees and another requiring local agencies to partner with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were among those that didn’t pass out of their chamber of origin. Bills that don’t make it out of their chamber of origin by March 26 are usually considered dead for this legislative session.
Citizenship verification for social services
House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, filed HB 4422, which would require the Department of Human Services to verify the immigration status of applicants for food stamp benefits and welfare programs. He also filed HB 4423, which would require the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to verify the immigration status of Medicaid applicants. Senate President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, has co-authored both measures.
The bills originally would have required the state agencies to verify the immigration status of adults applying for benefits on behalf of children, but the requirement was later removed from both measures. Both pieces of legislation also originally required the agencies to notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement if they discovered that an applicant wasn’t in the country legally.
The bills were later amended to require the state to notify the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office instead, which would review each case and notify ICE if an applicant’s legal presence in the country couldn’t be verified. Hilbert said in a February House committee meeting that changes were made after the initial version of one of the bills “generated some chatter.”
Oklahoma already requires applicants for public benefits to state their citizenship status, and applicants for Medicaid must also provide proof of citizenship or lawful immigration. A fiscal analysis states that the scale of fraud related to the two measures “is unknown at this time.”
Hilbert said in an interview that the bills are aimed at detecting fraud. The bills would also require state agencies to disclose on their websites that unverified immigrants could be reported to ICE if they apply for government assistance. He said he believes that will serve as an effective deterrent for ineligible immigrants who are considering applying.
“I would love for there to be zero cases of illegals receiving welfare,” Hilbert said. “That would be fantastic news, and I hope that’s the case. And ultimately, that’s the goal of this legislation, is to ensure that welfare only goes to American citizens.”
Paxton said at a press conference Thursday that he’s considering making more changes to the measures and asked that they not be heard in their legislative committee this week.
“Honestly, the more I peel the layers back, the more problems that I see that it could create,” Paxton said. “So we’ll see what happens. It’s still being worked on.”
Paxton said he’s concerned about the bills scaring pregnant mothers or parents who aren’t in the country legally from accessing services. He said he supports legislators’ intent to protect taxpayer dollars but worries that there are “some innocent victims getting caught in the middle of that.”
“I’m obviously a pro-life legislator — I’m pro-life whether that baby’s being carried by an American citizen or an undocumented person,” Paxton said. “That concerns me. That baby has to be protected.”
Restricting in-state tuition
Legislators filed five bills this session that would have barred students who aren’t in the country legally from receiving in-state college tuition, but only SB 1633, authored by Sen. Brenda Stanley, R-Midwest City, has passed its chamber of origin. Stanley’s bill would also prohibit undocumented students from receiving scholarships or financial aid on the basis of residence.
The measure would amend a law that a federal judge declared unconstitutional in August, which allowed students in the country illegally to get resident college tuition if they graduated from an Oklahoma high school.
Other legislation, like SB 1248, which would have prohibited students not in the country legally from enrolling in state colleges, and SB 1669, which would have required public colleges to publish annual reports on enrolled students from other countries, didn’t advance this legislative session.
Heightened sentences for people tied to foreign terrorist organizations
Rep. Tim Turner, R-Kinta, authored HB 3764, which would double prison sentences and fines for felonies if the person convicted has ties to a foreign terrorist organization.
Turner said he has 22 years of law enforcement experience, including as the Haskell County sheriff and a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration task force officer. He said he’s observed that many of the people who traffic drugs or participate in human trafficking are tied to groups like the Sinaloa Cartel, which the U.S. Department of State has classified as a foreign terrorist organization.
“We want people to quit using Oklahoma highways as thoroughfares to traffic children, to traffic drugs and traffic weapons,” Turner said. “And the way we do that is we enhance the time, enhance the penalty.”
State prosecutors can already use a gang enhancement to heighten a person’s prison sentence, but Turner said it’s not as strict as what he’s proposing. Turner said he wants law enforcement to look for signs someone belongs to a terrorist group, including tattoos and clothing. Prosecutors could use the information to seek harsher penalties.
Critical mineral ownership by foreign government adversaries
HB 3431, filed by Rep. Jonathan Wilk, R-Goldsby, would bar foreign government adversaries including China, Iran, Russia and Venezuela from owning or holding a leasehold interest in any minerals the U.S. Geological Survey defines as critical, including lithium, nickel and rare earth elements. Any deed would have to include an affidavit executed by the buyer or their representative stating that the land was acquired in compliance with the law.
State officials are seeking to turn Oklahoma into a hub for processing critical minerals. Several companies have announced plans to develop local facilities that produce rare earth magnets, lithium and aluminum.
Wilk said he’s concerned about the stranglehold that countries like China have on the world’s critical minerals, and he hopes this bill serves as a deterrent to them continuing to buy up resources.
“We don’t want them to have us held hostage by our own minerals,” Wilk said.
Other measures to watch
Sen. Michael Brooks, D-Oklahoma City, filed SB 1266, which would add a jail sentence of up to one year for notaries public who falsely claim to have legal expertise in filings that affect a person’s immigration status.
Notaries public who aren’t attorneys can notarize signatures on immigration documents to verify a person’s identity, but state law requires them to disclose that they cannot offer legal advice.
Rep. Mark Chapman, R-Broken Arrow, introduced HB 3787, which would require candidates for elected office to be U.S. citizens.
Many statewide, county-level and municipal elected positions already have citizenship requirements, but Chapman said he’s aiming to streamline candidate criteria. He said the purpose of his legislation is to ensure that people influencing policy have “skin in the game” as U.S. citizens.
“What I wanted to accomplish is just make it clear that we value citizenship, and there’s a premium and a privilege placed on citizenship,” Chapman said. “Sometimes I think that gets lost in the mix.”
Bills must pass out of committees and the full House and Senate by May 7. The Legislature is required by law to adjourn its regular session by May 29 this year.
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Ari Fife interned at The Frontier and was hired by the outlet in 2023. She covers politics and social issues. She can be reached at Ari@readfrontier.com
