State Rep. Pfeiffer to revive bill directing law enforcement to work with ICE

Pfeiffer to Revive Legislation on ICE

OKLAHOMA CITY – State Rep. John Pfeiffer, R-Orlando, today said he intends to refile legislation that would require Oklahoma law enforcement to comply with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) requests.

During the 2020 legislative session, Pfeiffer authored House Bill 3195, which directed all sheriffs, jailers and deputies to comply with any request made in an immigration retainer request provided by the federal government, and would have required the person identified in the detainer to be informed they were being held pursuant to the request. Compliance would not be required if the person has provided proof of American citizenship.

House passes bill requiring law enforcement comply with federal immigration agencies

House Passes Bill Requiring Law Enforcement to Comply with Federal Immigration Agencies

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma House of Representatives passed legislation directing all sheriffs, jailers and deputies to comply with any request made in an immigration retainer request provided by the federal government.

House Bill 3195 is authored by Rep. John Pfeiffer (R-Orlando), who pointed to instances in Oklahoma where illegal immigrants have been released by local law enforcement despite their immigration status having been confirmed.

Pfeiffer said the bill was requested by members of law enforcement to help define their role in these situations.

“I repeatedly heard from law enforcement in my district and from across the state that they needed clarification as to their roles in these situations,” Pfeiffer said. “House Bill 3195 requests that they comply with federal immigration agencies by alerting them to a person’s immigration status and holding a person for no longer than 48 hours while federal officials arrive.”

House Bill 3195 was co-authored by Rep. Sean Roberts (R-Hominy).

“Our local law enforcement should be cooperating with federal immigration agencies in instances where a person’s status as an illegal immigrant has been confirmed,” Roberts said. “We’ve seen unfortunate situations in Oklahoma where our existing laws failed to keep our citizens safe by releasing an illegal immigrant before federal agents arrived.”

The legislation would require the person identified in the immigration detainer to be informed they are being held in accordance with the request from federal agencies. The bill states that a sheriff, jailer or deputy is not required to comply if the person has provided proof that the person is a citizen of the United States.

House Bill 3195 passed the House by a 78-21 vote. It is now available to be considered by the Senate, where it is authored by Sen. Julie Daniels (R-Bartlesville).

Bill requiring ICE compliance passes State House committee

Pfeiffer Passes Immigration Legislation through House Judiciary Committee

OKLAHOMA CITY (February 4th, 2020) – Rep. John Pfeiffer (R-Orlando) today passed House Bill 3195 through the House Judiciary Committee. The legislation would direct all sheriffs, jailers and deputies to comply with any request made in an immigration retainer request provided by the federal government.

The legislation would require the person identified in the immigration detainer to be informed they are being held pursuant to the request. A sheriff, jailer or deputy is not required to comply if the person has provided proof that the person is a citizen of the United States.

While presenting the bill before the committee, Pfeiffer explained that the need for the bill arose after a county sheriff released an illegal immigrant after only 90 minutes notice to the federal immigration office in Dallas.

“House Bill 3195 clarifies that our law enforcement should work with federal immigration agencies to help protect Oklahomans as these situations arise,” Pfeiffer said. “The need for this bill arose out of a need to promote cooperation between our state law enforcement officers and federal law enforcement agencies.”

The bill passed committee 13-4. It is now available to be considered on the House floor.

Rep. John Pfeiffer, a Republican, serves District 38 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. His district includes portions of Garfield, Grant, Kay, Logan and Noble counties.