Oolagah Santa Bait

TULSA, OK – Nearly five months after passing a city ordinance making it against the law for undocumented immigrants to work within Oologah city limits, not a single fine has been levied against area employers nor a single undocumented worker identified.

While supporters of Oologah Mayor Jerry Holland claim this absence of activity shows that the controversial ordinance “is working,” detractors of such laws speculate that the only conclusion that can be drawn is that there was never any real problem to begin with.

In fact, it wasn’t any ICE bust of a business or any other immigration raid that prompted Holland to push the ordinance through, but rather his personal observations that a newly constructed house near his own “was built with labor from south of the border.”

Holland has not commented on how he surmised that the workers he saw were in the U.S. illegally, leading to criticism that the Oologah ordinance – like many similar measures being passed by municipalities and states throughout the country – is in actuality based on thinly veiled racism and cultural stereotyping.

The Oologah ordinance allows virtually anyone to file an unsubstantiated complaint of “suspected, unlawful undocumented workers working at a location.” Police are then dispatched to look into the complaint, and employers found in violation of the ordinance are subject to a $250 fine per each “illegal” worker.

The community of approximately 1100, with 72 percent white and between one and two percent Latino residents (2004 estimates) has become a beacon for critics of laws and ordinances many see as unnecessary and specifically aimed at those of Hispanic/Latino heritage.

A key area of concern is the word “suspected” with respect to potential targets of such investigations. “What constitutes suspicion of being undocumented?” one observer wondered. “Is dark skin enough, or do you have to have a Spanish accent to be considered a threat?”

Furthermore, Oologah police are not immigration agents and presumably are not trained in the complexities of immigration status, legally acceptable documentation, as well as myriad other related issues in what is a matter of federal, not local, jurisdiction.

La Semana del Sur interviewed a nearby builder who said Latinos, all of whom were hired in full compliance with federal law, make up roughly 75 percent of his workforce.

“And I plan to hire even more [Latinos] in the future,” the builder said. “My Spanish-speaking employees simply have a stronger work ethic and are more reliable than some of the U.S.-born people I’ve hired.”

Even though all of the contractor’s workers are legal, having provided proof of their eligibility to work upon being hired, forcing employers to carry such documentation on job sites or risk being fined or dragged into court places a tremendous logistical burden on small business owners.

According to a labor activist interviewed for this article, such extra hassles are likely to discourage most employers from hiring any Latino – legal residency notwithstanding – in order to avoid potential problems with local authorities. The scenario described is only one of many possibilities arising from Mayor Holland’s crusade that have critics referring to Oologah as “a racist oasis.” (La Semana del Sur)