Oklahoma Republican state officials have strongly backed President-Elect Donald Trump’s plan to address illegal immigration, including mass deportations.
On Wednesday, Gov. Kevin Stitt, alongside 25 other Republican governors, issued a statement supporting the use of state law enforcement and the National Guard to enforce Trump’s immigration agenda.
We fact-checked recent claims about illegal immigration in Oklahoma, using public records, information from state officials, and other sources.
Claim: Legalizing medical marijuana has driven illegal immigration to Oklahoma.
Source: Tim Tipton, Oklahoma Commissioner of Public Safety, mentioned “proximity to the southern border, a robust interstate system, and the legalization of medical marijuana as factors contributing to increased illegal immigration,” according to a News9 article from Nov. 20.
Fact check: True but misleading.
Thousands of workers without legal immigration status have taken jobs on marijuana farms in Oklahoma since the state legalized medical marijuana in 2018. Many of them face exploitation and are trafficked for their labor, according to a joint investigation by The Frontier and ProPublica. These workers often qualify for T visas, which grant victims of human trafficking legal status in the U.S., said Mark Woodward, spokesperson for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics. Many of these workers also apply for political asylum, with their cases pending under current law. The investigation found that many immigrants working on marijuana farms in Oklahoma are from China, having fled religious or political persecution in their authoritarian home country.
Claim: Oklahoma has spent $474.9 million to educate the children of undocumented immigrants.
Source: In October, State Superintendent Ryan Walters sent a letter to Vice President Kamala Harris, demanding the federal government reimburse Oklahoma $474.9 million for educating the children of undocumented immigrants.
Fact check: Mixed.
Walters announced plans to collaborate with local schools to track the cost of educating undocumented immigrants’ children. However, multiple schools stated they would not inquire about families’ immigration status, as reported by NBC News. Denying children access to free public education based on immigration status is unconstitutional, as the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1982.
Dan Isett, Walters’ spokesperson, did not clarify how the Department of Education arrived at the $474 million figure but referred to the letter sent to the federal government. The letter cited this figure from the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), a think tank based in Washington D.C. FAIR claimed the estimate was based on a 2021 population study using census data, which suggested nearly 42,000 school-aged children in Oklahoma lack citizenship or have non-citizen parents. According to FAIR, Oklahoma spent approximately $11,371 per student that year, which totals about $474 million.
However, estimating the number of undocumented youth is challenging. The Migration Policy Institute, a think tank, estimated only 6,000 undocumented youth under age 16 in Oklahoma. The U.S. Department of Education does not collect data on students’ immigration status but tracks students who meet the criteria for immigrant youth, such as those between ages 3 and 21, who were not born in any state and haven’t attended school in the U.S. for more than three years.
Claim: It costs Oklahoma taxpayers about $36,000 a day to house 526 illegal immigrants in state jails.
Source: Stitt made this claim in a press release about plans to deport undocumented immigrants held in Oklahoma jails and prisons.
Fact check: True.
The state spends nearly $1.5 million a day to house 22,000 prisoners in state custody, according to an Oklahoma Department of Corrections spokesperson. The department confirmed it houses 526 immigrants without legal status, costing the state around $36,000 per day. Immigrants without permanent legal status account for approximately 2% of the inmate population.
Claim: Chinese gangs are involved in the marijuana industry in Oklahoma and are entering America illegally.
Source: This claim was made by the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, in the fall 2024 issue of City Journal magazine.
Fact check: Mostly false.
Most Chinese nationals in Oklahoma connected to illegal marijuana farms have legal immigration status, according to the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and numerous criminal case files reviewed by The Frontier. Many of the farm owners have been in the U.S. for years, with some owning restaurants or legitimate businesses, while others ran marijuana farms in other states like California, Colorado, and New Mexico. These individuals are also involved in criminal networks tied to money laundering and human smuggling.
Claim: Undocumented immigrants contributed $227 million to Oklahoma’s tax revenues in 2022.
Source: The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) published a study estimating that undocumented immigrants in Oklahoma paid $227.5 million in state and local taxes in 2022.
Fact check: True.
ITEP, a left-leaning think tank, also estimated that undocumented immigrants would have contributed $273.1 million if they had work authorization. The analysis indicated that undocumented immigrants pay many of the same taxes as legal residents but cannot access the services they fund and are ineligible for some tax credits.
The American Immigration Council, a pro-immigration organization, made a similar estimate, finding that undocumented immigrants in Oklahoma contributed $230.8 million in 2022. ITEP used Census data, adjusting for undercounting, to estimate the contributions of undocumented immigrants, including income, payroll, and sales taxes.
Rating system:
- True: A claim backed by factual evidence
- Mostly true: A claim that is mostly accurate but has some inaccuracies
- Mixed: A claim that contains both accurate and inaccurate or unproven details
- True but misleading: A claim that is factually accurate but omits critical context
- Mostly false: A claim that is mostly inaccurate but includes some valid points
- False: A claim with no factual basis
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