Oklahoma schools may begin collecting immigration status of parents
The State Board of Education approved the proposal in a push to eliminate “sanctuary schools.”

Oklahoma may require parents to report their immigration status when enrolling children in schools.
“We’re not going to allow sanctuary schools here in Oklahoma,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters told CNN’s Brianna Keilar on Tuesday afternoon.
The Oklahoma State Board of Education voted early Tuesday to approve the proposal to have parents report their legal status. The change would help determine that educational resources are being allocated appropriately, according to Walters.
The move comes just days after the Trump administration announced U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials will be allowed to arrest undocumented immigrants in schools and churches, reversing precedent.
But the push to collect this information is also part of a greater effort to help ICE find and deport undocumented migrants, according to Walters.
“It’s so important for the Trump administration to have the data — where are the families, where are they located — and when they’re making these decisions, I know that they want to keep the families intact,” Walters said, referencing the Trump-era “zero tolerance” policy that separated thousands of families at the U.S.-Mexico border.
When pressed about whether schools would be collecting information on parents or on their children, Walters said “all of the above.” He added that information would be turned over to ICE depending on the needs of the Trump administration, and that school raids could occur “if President Trump sees fit.”
“We answer to the taxpayers of Oklahoma, and they deserve to know how many illegal immigrants are in their schools,” Walters said on CNN.
Legal organizations like the National Immigration Law Center are already decrying the proposal as unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Plyler v. Doe in 1982 that states cannot stop undocumented children from going to public school. Walters called the Plyler ruling “ridiculous” and said it limited states from dealing with illegal immigration.
This wouldn’t be Oklahoma’s only court battle over its schools, either. The Supreme Court recently agreed to hear arguments on whether Oklahoma can have a publicly funded religious charter school.
It remains to be seen if this will become state law in Oklahoma. The proposal would need to be approved by the Legislature and the governor first. And Oklahoma City Public Schools said it does not plan to collect the status of students or families, in a statement following the vote.
“Federal law guarantees every child’s right to public education regardless of immigration status, and our District will continue operating in accordance with these established federal protections,” Oklahoma City Public School Superintendent Dr. Jamie C. Polk wrote.
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