The Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY — Legislation described as the nation’s most sweeping attempt to deny jobs and public benefits to illegal immigrants was sent to Gov. Brad Henry’s desk Tuesday.

State lawmakers urged Henry to sign the measure into law after it was approved in a bipartisan 84-14 vote by the state House. The bill was approved 41-6 by the Senate last month.

“The people of Oklahoma are very strongly for this bill,” said House Speaker Lance Cargill, R-Harrah.

Immigrant groups said the bill is a wrong-headed approach to stop illegal immigration and urged Henry to veto it.

“It’s not going to control immigration. It’s going to create a long-term sour view in the Latino community,” said Ed Romo, vice president of the League of United Latin American Citizens.

“It’s targeting the Latinos, the Hispanics, and nobody else,” said Ed Madrid, state director of LULAC.

Pat Fennell, executive director of the Latino Community Development Agency in Oklahoma City, said the state does not have the authority to supersede federal immigration law.

“It opens the door for all kinds of litigation,” Fennell said. “We’re going to be paying the consequences of this silly bill.”

Henry, who has previously said he believes illegal immigration is a federal issue, has not decided whether he will sign or veto the measure, a spokesman said.

“Gov. Henry supports responsible and effective immigration reform, but he will withhold judgment on this particular bill until he has had an opportunity to review the final version,” said his communications director, Paul Sund.

The measure contains the toughest state guidelines on dealing with illegal immigration in the nation, said Mike Hethmon, general counsel of the Immigration Reform Law Institute in Washington.

Lawmakers in Oklahoma and other states have proposed immigration bills because of the federal government’s failure to control the flow of undocumented immigrants, now estimated at 12 million nationwide, Hethmon said.

The Oklahoma bill builds on measures passed by other states but has a stronger focus on deterring unauthorized employment, he said.

“It lays the foundations for state and local action in a very broad scope of public activities,” Hethmon said.