An Oklahoma bill has stirred controversy in the state Legislature for seeking to label Hispanic people, in particular, who may be gang members, as terrorists.
The bill, written by Republican state Rep. J.J. Humphrey, proposes that any person who “is of Hispanic descent living within the state of Oklahoma,” is a member of a gang and has been convicted of “gang-related offenses” would be deemed a terrorist. No other racial or ethnic group is singled out in the legislation.
Humphrey said the aim of the bill is to target cartel members bringing fentanyl and other illicit drugs into the United States through the southern border.
“What I’m asking for in this bill is to protect our state, protect the United States against what’s going on, on the border,” Humphrey told KFOR, NBC’s Oklahoma affiliate.
Humphrey has also said that “Chinese nationals” are contributing to the fentanyl crisis, but did not explicitly mention that group in the bill. There were 3,547 unintentional drug overdose deaths in the state between 2017 to 2021, according to data from the Oklahoma State Department of Health. Fentanyl was involved in 579 of those deaths.
He has since apologized for zeroing in on Hispanics and said he plans to change the language in the bill to say “undocumented illegals,” according to KFOR. But he insists he wasn’t wrong.
“I apologize for using the word Hispanic, but I was not wrong. Again, these are Hispanic. Reality is they are Hispanic. There’s nothing to be ashamed with,” Humphrey said. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.
State Sen. Michael Brooks, a Democrat and chair of the Legislative Latino Caucus, told KFOR that the bill is unlikely to pass.
“All groups have a constitutional right to due process and also a constitutional right not to be discriminated against or to be singled out,” Brooks said. “Nobody is in favor or I don’t think there’s an appetite anymore for more divisive politics. Personally, I think his constituents deserve better than this type of legislation.”
Humphrey has proposed another controversial bill this legislative session that seeks to use animal control to remove “furries,” individuals who role-play as anthropomorphized animal characters, from school activities.
