A faction of the Oklahoma state Republican Party has attempted to censure Senator Lankford because of his involvement in the bipartisan immigration reform and border security bill currently being negotiated in the Senate. Some state party committee members say the vote was not legitimate because a full meeting was not called. 

“The OKGOP strongly condemns Senator James Lankford … and calls upon him to cease and desist jeopardizing the security and

liberty of the people of Oklahoma and of these United States,” the resolution states. “Until Senator Lankford ceases from these actions the Oklahoma Republican Party will cease all support for him.”

The deal that the senator is working on with a Democrat, Senator Murphy, and an independent, Senator Sinema, will reportedly permit the entry of up to 5,000 migrants per day. It would also  include work permits for migrants who cross the border, an increased number of visas available to the families of high-skilled laborers, and an increase in the number of green cards issued by 50,000 a year.

The deal would also restrict the entrance of migrants who fail to appear at a port of entry and provide taxpayer-funded legal representation for unaccompanied migrant children and mentally incompetent migrants. 

The resolution accuses Mr. Lankford of “working with Democrat Senator Charles Schumer on an open border deal.” It also states that “playing fast and loose with Democrats on our border policy not only disenfranchises legal immigrants seeking citizenship but it also puts the safety and security of Americans in great danger.”

Mr. Lankford responded to the resolution on Saturday night, simply writing on X: “Border security is national security.”

Some members of the Oklahoma state party say the resolution carries no weight because it was the vice chairman — not the chairman — who called the meeting and held the vote without the full committee present. 

A former chairman of the state party, Anthony Ferate, said it was an “extreme” minority that moved forward with the resolution against party rules. 

“Today an extreme faction of the @officialOKGOP held a meeting without providing an official call to all members of the State Committee, including me, to attack Senator @jameslankford,” Mr. Ferate wrote on X. “Any vote taken by the OKGOP today was not legitimate and definitely does not  represent the voice of all Oklahoma Republicans.”

Members of the state party previously tried to censure Mr. Lankford and his former Oklahoma colleague, Senator Inhofe, after they voted to certify President Biden’s 2020 victory. That resolution ultimately failed. 

Mr. Lankford’s reported immigration and border deal has been pilloried by his fellow conservatives in recent days. Speaker Johnson said Saturday that the legislation — if it even gets through the Senate — would be dead on arrival in the House, saying the president does not need new statutes to secure the border. 

“The President must start by using the broad legal authority he already possesses to reclaim our nation’s sovereignty and end the mass release of illegal aliens into our country,” the speaker said. “The Senate’s pending proposal would expressly allow as many as 150,000 illegal crossings each month (1.8 million per year) before any new ‘shutdown’ authority could be used. At that point, America will have already been surrendered.”