Last week, my bill that would have prohibited the certification of permanent resident aliens as police or peace officers failed in the House.
In other words, House Bill 1190 would have kept people who are not citizens of our country from becoming law enforcement officers who could potentially arrest U.S. citizens.
The bill made exceptions for people already trained and certified by the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET) and who would have been actively employed as a full-time peace officer as of Nov. 1, 2025, before the bill would take effect.
Federal officers are required to be U.S. citizens, and yet in one of the reddest states in America, we are not requiring this. Only a year ago, Oklahomans voted to ensure that only citizens could vote. Now the majority of Republican lawmakers are in favor of allowing these non-U.S. citizens to become police or peace officers.
I heard arguments by members who come from a law enforcement background that our sheriffs and police departments are short-handed and that we need translators to go after illegal marijuana grows, etc. I feel for these departments, but if we have come to the point in this state of having to hire non-citizens just because they can speak Mandarin Cheese, then we have a bigger problem than I thought.
A bill with this same language passed in the House last year, so it was interesting that it failed this year.
When a bill fails in the House, the author has the opportunity to capture the vote and ask for it to be reheard before deadline. I decided not to do this. First, I didn’t want to give anyone the chance to try to redeem themselves on this issue. Let the people remember how they voted. Second, I don’t believe I should have to go around begging people to do the right thing on something like this.
Another issue on which I’m passionate has to do with lab-grown proteins. (I don’t want to call this meat). We ran two bills on this in the House. I voted for the bill that would ban these products. The other measure would just require labeling. I argued and voted against this bill as I think it legitimizes these products. Something that is raised from fetal animal cells that replicate into infinity – just like cancer cells do – should not be labeled meat. We don’t know the long-term effects of products like this, and I’m hearing from constituents that some are dangerous. In fact, I received an article from a natural grocery chain that refuses to sell these manufactured proteins with a list of reasons why.
It’s crazy days here in Oklahoma. Hope we return to sanity soon.
Remember to listen to my Capitol update on the radio at 7:35 a.m. every Thursday on KPRV.
As always, if I can help you with anything, please call my Capitol office at (405) 557-7413 or email me at rick.west@okhouse.gov.
Rick West serves District 3 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. His district includes part of LeFlore County.
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