Unethical Oklahoma Landlords, read this:

There seems to be some confusion in Oklahoma about who landlords in the State may and may not rent their properties to. Now, besides the fact that it is and always has been unethical to knowingly provide shelter for illegal immigrants, the illegality of it is now reinforced in the State of Oklahoma. I suggest Oklahoma landlords read the following provision in the law:

B. IT SHALL BE UNLAWFUL for any person to conceal, harbor, or shelter from detection any alien in any place within the State of Oklahoma, including any building or means of transportation, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that the alien has come to, entered, or remained in the United States in violation of law. (emphasis mine)

And this:

D. Any person violating the provisions of subsections A or B of this section shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections for not less than one (1) year, or by a fine of not less than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or by both such fine and imprisonment.

You've heard the phrase "let your conscience be your guide," right? And if that is not enough, then let the law be your guide. And if that is still insufficient to correctly inform you, then let the penalty for knowingly violating the provisions of the law be your guide. So, you see, we have provided a backup for the backup for the backup. If your conscience misinforms you (or you're in the habit of simply ignoring your conscience as many are), you may turn to the law. If the law coupled with your conscience still misinforms you (or you're in the habit of ignoring both), then you may consider the penalties for violating the law. This should be enough, and ignorance is no excuse.

Undoubtedly it will be argued against my interpretation of this provision in the law that the phrase "shelter from detection" absolves landlords who have no intentions of sheltering illegals for the purpose of aiding them in avoiding detection. But I'm telling you that this is an excuse and only an excuse. Rare is going to be the occurance indeed that a landlord does not either know, or strongly suspect that he is renting his property to (or sheltering) an illegal alien. And so long as that alien is holed up in that house, apartment, whatever, he is avoiding detection, most probably with the knowledge of his landlord, who is at least tacitly involved in sheltering him from detection.

Additionally, it just makes good business sense to avoid, under the new law, renting to illegal aliens. Since they are, by way of other provisions in the law, no longer eligible for public assistance and State welfare programs, and since, by way of additional provisions in the law, businesses are now prohibited from hiring illegals, how are they going to pay their rent?