Transcript Staff Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Five state lawmakers, including two from Cleveland County, have asked for an attorney general's opinion on whether the state's new immigration law is enforceable.

State Reps. Bill Nations and Wallace Collins, both Norman Democrats, and Reps. Al Lindley, D-Oklahoma City; Al McAffrey, D-Oklahoma City, and Scott BigHorse, D-Pawhuska, sent a seven-page letter to Attorney General Drew Edmondson requesting the opinion, Edmondson's office confirmed Friday.

The letter, dated Sept. 5, asked Edmondson whether the state's new immigration law -- created by House Bill 1804 -- conflicts with federal immigration law. The state law was authored by Moore Republican Randy Terrill.

"As widely reported in the press, there is a great deal of confusion regarding what the bill does and does not do," the letter states. "There are also questions regarding to how the law will affect public agencies, schools and other members of our constituency."

Nations said he endorsed the request because "it's almost impossible" to have a civil conversation about immigration.

"I think that a law of this sort, this approach, is punitive and not well thought out," he said. "It's reactionary. This is a complicated problem that needs to have a better solution. It's frustrating, because the abililty to have moderates sit down in a room and use common sense and come up with a workable solution is very limited."

Nations said lawmakers asked Edmondson 21 questions about the immigration law, including:

Can public and private elementary and secondary schools "deny issuance of identification cards to students who are not U.S. citizens, nationals, lawful permanent residents?"

Does "categorization of immigrants for the purpose of eligibility for school identification" constitute a state-imposed regulation of immigration?

Can state officials, including judges "rely on a defendant's current lack of immigration status to infer that he or she was not lawfully admitted to the United States?"

Do full due process protections, including the right to counsel, apply to proceedings?

"We need solutions," Nations said, "and solutions are not coming from Washington, D.C."

Friday, Terrill said he expected the measure to be challenged.

"I'm not surprised in the least that somebody would be considering filing a challenge to the bill. Maybe they are hoping the attorney general will do their research for them," he said.