Oklahoma Facing Second Lawsuit Over Immigration Law
Civil rights groups have joined the legal battle over state-level immigration enforcement in Oklahoma.
This is the second lawsuit filed against the state this week over House Bill 4156.
The ACLU Oklahoma Chapter, National Immigration Law Center and Tulsa-based law firm Rivas and Associates are suing Oklahoma over the immigration measure criminalizing anyone in the state without legal immigration status.
The plaintiffs are the Latino student advocacy group Padres Unidos of Tulsa and Ximena Monserrat Lopez Mena, a life-long Oklahoman who was brought to the United States as a child and whose family is of mixed immigration status.
It’s the second case filed against Oklahoma after the state Attorney General welcomed threats of litigation from the U.S. Department of Justice and the DOJ delivered.
The complaint says the state is overstepping by legislating matters of immigration.
The groups argue people like Lopez Mena could be separated from their loved ones, despite not knowing any other home but Oklahoma.
Discrimination Lawsuit Filed For Work On “Killers of The Flower Moon” Movie
An Indigenous costume designer for the movie “Killers of the Flower Moon” is suing Apple Studios.
This comes on the heels of a prior lawsuit regarding race-based discrimination.
Kristi Marie Hoffman is an enrolled member of the Sault Sainte Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.
She has worked in the entertainment industry for two decades as a costume designer.
In 2020, Hoffman was recruited to work on Killers of the Flower Moon, which was filmed largely in Osage County.
She says she experienced discrimination on set - later filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. A confidential settlement was agreed upon in December of 2022.
Now, Hoffman says her work is not being recognized because of the previous dispute.
She says she was excluded from an Oscar nomination despite her contributions, including the jacket worn by Leonardo Di Caprio.
Hoffman filed the lawsuit against Apple Studios last week.
Deadly Gang Violence In Haiti Rocks Oklahoma-Based Missionary
Gang members killed three missionaries working for an Oklahoma-based religious non-profit in Haiti Thursday night.
The group, Missions in Haiti, was founded by a Claremore couple in 2000.
The victims are their son, Davy Lloyd; his wife, Natalie Lloyd; and the group’s director, Jude Montis.
They were all in their early 20s, according to a report from the New York Times.
Missions in Haiti says it provides housing, education and Christian ministry to Haitian children.
The group closed its school for two weeks in February as rival gangs fought for control of an area nearby.
United Nations officials say gang violence killed or injured 2,500 people in Haiti during the first three months of this year.
State School Crisis Team Won’t Get Federal Grants
Oklahoma’s school Crisis Team lost out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal funding since State Superintendent Ryan Walters took office.
Walters continues to draw criticism as the Oklahoma State Department of Education skips out on federal grants.
The latest casualty is funding for the state’s school Crisis Team. The team helps Oklahoma schools after tragedies like student deaths or natural disasters. For example, the team supported Owasso school officials after the death of Nex Benedict.
Responding to a story originally by The Frontier, Walters dodged questions about the program’s value following Thursday’s State Board of Education meeting.
But he did offer up his grant application philosophy.
“So we’ve been really clear. We are not going to take federal dollars that don’t align with Oklahoma values,” Walters said.
Walters declined to further define Oklahoma values.
The Crisis Team began with a 2019 federal grant under his predecessor Joy Hofmeister.
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