US justice department sues Oklahoma in challenge to immigration law

Lawsuit says state law punishing undocumented immigrants with prison terms of up to two years is unconstitutional

The US Department of Justice sued Oklahoma on Tuesday over a state law that seeks to impose criminal penalties on those living in the state illegally.

The lawsuit in federal court in Oklahoma City challenges an Oklahoma law that makes it a state crime - punishable by up to two years in prison - to live in the state without legal immigration status. Similar laws passed in Texas and Iowa are already facing challenges from the justice department. Oklahoma is among several GOP states jockeying to push deeper into immigration enforcement as both Republicans and Democrats seize on the issue. Other bills targeting undocumented immigrants have been passed this year in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee.