PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FORMER BORDER PATROL OFFICERS October 31, 2007 On Wednesday, October 31, federal judge James Payne of the Northern District of Oklahoma in Tulsa denied a request for injunction by Latino groups.  They had requested that the court enjoin the State of Oklahoma from putting into effect a new law that bars illegal aliens from jobs and state assistance.  The law also makes it a felony for anyone to harbor or transport an illegal alien. The National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers (NAFBPO) is pleased to see that Oklahoma is free to proceed – it is a step in the right direction.  It is the proper role of the states to act when the federal government ignores its responsibilities, as it has for decades with respect to illegal immigration.  Furthermore, the states have long been laboratories for social and political experiments – Oklahoma’s action will explore this for the nation. NABPO has predicted since it was founded that if the things that make it convenient or pleasant or easy for illegal aliens to stay are removed, they will move on.  That is being demonstrated in Oklahoma now, where it is said by some that tens of thousands of illegal aliens have moved out of the state in response to the law. NAFBPO expects that after an initial period of adjustment to new realities, employers will find that there is no labor shortage.  They may have to pay more to bring domestic workers back into the workforce, but that will benefit the state economy.  Hundreds of millions of dollars will be spent locally, no longer being sent abroad by illegal aliens to their families back home.  NAFBPO further believes that an honest accounting of welfare and education costs a year from now will reveal that they have either diminished to a noticeable degree or that stable funds are able to better support and educate legal Oklahoma residents. NAFBPO also predicts that the state will see an improvement in public safety issues, from accidents involving uninsured motorists to gang crime. It is NAFBPO’s position that real immigration reform is possible, but it doesn’t begin by legalizing millions of people who got here by evasions and trickery and deceit.  It begins by making it clear to illegal aliens from anywhere that they must go home – and most of them do still have homes and family abroad.  We don’t have to arrest them and deport them; they will go on their own once they understand that they are no longer welcome And finally, this is not about skin color or language or xenophobia – that is a weak-minded argument, not worthy of response.  Immigration laws exist for demonstrable reasons.  The nation has ignored those reasons for decades and is now paying a price for it.  The correction is underway, apparently to begin with the states.  Ultimately, this is about Americans making the decisions about whom we will allow to live among us.  We will not have the decisions forced down our throats by those who have broken our laws and those who profit by their presence.     Kent Lundgren Chairman National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers (509) 961-7001