No city in Oklahoma is considered a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants

President Donald Trump has signed executive orders ordering a Mexican border wall be built, hiring 15,000 additional immigration enforcement officers, adding more detention centers along the border and threatening to withhold federal money to “sanctuary cities.” More executive orders regarding immigration enforcement are expected.

Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum issued a statement on social media Thursday saying he consulted with legal and police experts about the presidential action.

“All are in agreement that this order does not call for a change in any of the practices already in place here,” Bynum stated. “As your mayor, it is so important to me that law-abiding Tulsans know they can call our police when they need help. I want our immigrant community in Tulsa to feel safe, feel welcome, and feel this is a place of opportunity for future generations of their families. That is the kind of city we are focused on building.”

“Sanctuary city” is an undefined, broad term used to refer to municipalities with policies that limit involvement with federal immigration enforcement.

Websites among groups calling for restricting immigration — such as the Center for Immigration Studies and Federation for American Immigration Reform — do not list any Oklahoma cities as sanctuary cities. The number of such cities ranges from 60 up to 500, depending on the group.

However, without a definition, it is a moving target and individual choice on which cities earn the label.

In 2007, Oklahoma passed House Bill 1804, which is an anti-immigration bill with several provisions such as making it illegal to provide transportation, shelter or identification for undocumented immigrants. At that time, the local group IRON (Immigration Reform Oklahoma Now) called Tulsa a sanctuary city.

“The fact that police don’t ask every person they stop to prove they have a lawful presence in the U.S. might be considered a sanctuary policy,” said Elizabeth McCormick, founder and director of the Immigrant Rights Project at the University of Tulsa’s College of Law.

The term is believed to have originated in the 1980s when churches provided shelter to Central American immigrants fleeing violence. Federal officials were not providing refugee status, so efforts were made to shield these immigrants from deportation.

“The sanctuary label at this point has actually been co-opted by the anti-immigrant side of the debate because it’s wielded as an accusation,” McCormick said.

McCormick said the orders cannot change existing laws but do set up priorities for the administration. She said it appears to shift away from focusing on undocumented immigrants who commit crimes.

“There appears to be an effort to enforce immigration laws against anyone for removal regardless of extenuating circumstances, if they have lived here since childhood or have no criminal history,” McCormick said. “There is no conversation going on that seeks to look at the system as a whole. What is there in terms of providing options for people to come and live in the U.S. or open up legal channels for people who have been here?

“People who have legitimate ways of remaining in the U.S. — such as crime victims or domestic violence — worry that they won’t get an opportunity to pursue those claims because the focus is using all available resources and means for enforcement.”

Law enforcement

Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan said officers will continue to approach their jobs just as they always have. Officers do not ask for immigration status when making arrests or interviewing witnesses.

“We are not going to change in Tulsa,” Jordan said. “Our goal is to engender trust with our community. We don’t want anyone scared to call police. We are the police department for our entire community. We have no plans to change our operations regarding immigration.

“We spend a lot of resources to assure our Hispanic community that nothing is going to happen, and I intend to follow through with that.”

After a person has been arrested, the Tulsa Jail has a contract with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to check for immigration status, which could lead to deportation. The jail has been participating in the 287(g) program since 2008.

During the booking process, immigration officials can request a detainer be placed on a person based on a background check. Once that person has dealt with the state or local criminal complaints, then the inmate is held in the custody of ICE until deportation or administrative proceedings are complete. The program has been criticized for encouraging racial profiling and unequal treatment of immigrants. Local advocates have appeared before the Tulsa County commissioners arguing to drop the program.

Tulsa County Sheriff Vic Regalado has stated it is a misunderstood program because the priority for a detainer is criminal history, national security concerns or past deportations.

“I’ve met with the upper management of ICE and been given no indication anything will change,” Regalado said. “We will continue to operate within the laws at David L. Moss (Jail) and deal with the criminal element.”

Regalado said he understands the anxiety among the immigrant community, but no plans are being made to expend personnel or resources on practices such as raids.

“I can’t speak to what President Trump will do or change. I understand and empathize with the fear and even some of the paranoia among immigrants,” he said. “From the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office, we do not have the resources to engage in or participate in the roundup of people. We barely have enough to staff the 287(g) and those who are the criminal element.”

Education

When it comes to school-age children, a 1982 Supreme Court case known as Plyler v. Doe granted a right to education regardless of immigration status.

In 1975, Texas passed a law to withhold state funds for educating students who were not legal residents and gave districts the right to deny enrollment to undocumented students.

The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote, found the law violated the 14th Amendment. In part, the decision determined children had a right to protection from discrimination, and the law imposed a burden based on “a legal characteristic over which children can have little control.”

The majority stated denying children an education would likely contribute to “the creation and perpetuation of a subclass of illiterates within our boundaries, surely adding to the problems and costs of unemployment, welfare and crime.”

In practice, this means schools do not ask or require proof of legal immigration or citizenship status among students or families of students.

“The ruling of the court set forth children of illegal immigrants are people deserving of equal protection rights. Whether or not a child is of illegal immigrants has no bearing on the enrollment or services provided to a child in Oklahoma’s public schools,” said Julie Miller, deputy executive director and general counsel of the Oklahoma State School Boards Association.

In higher education, House Bill 1804 requires undocumented immigrants pay out-of-state tuition. They are not eligible for government-backed grants or loans to pay for college.

Health care

Tulsa City-County Health Department Executive Director Bruce Dart said immigration status is not asked among people seeking services at clinics. He said this is a practice followed by all health departments in the country because of the urgency in dealing with communicable diseases.

Health departments offer services, programs and immunizations to prevent and treat infectious diseases.

“Public health has no borders,” Dart said. “If we serve one person, we are serving the entire community.”

Undocumented immigrants do not qualify for the coverage of Medicare or Medicaid, except in the delivery of children because the child will be a U.S. citizen. Undocumented immigrants are not eligible to buy insurance through the marketplace plans available through the Affordable Care Act.