Oklahoma School Districts Tasked With Response To Illegal Immigration

In a State Board of Education meeting on Wednesday, Republican State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters shared policy updates with the board near the start of the meeting.

While Walters addressed recent controversies surrounding the assassination attempt of Former President Donald Trump and his directive to teach the bible in Oklahoma schools, he also shared a new directive concerning immigration.

"It's incredibly hard to know how much illegal immigration our schools are dealing with," Walters said. "The financial impact, how do schools plan? Whether it's personnel, resources?"

During his remarks, Walters blamed failures at the federal level and said it has caused a rush of undocumented immigrants and fentanyl coming into the state, including schools. He said there are studies that have estimated the cost of illegal immigration for schools but did not cite or name which ones.

Separately, the Latino Caucus at the state capitol publicized the findings from a report produced by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which describes itself as nonpartisan but has also been labeled as left-wing.

The report estimates that in 2022, undocumented immigrants in Oklahoma paid more than $227 million in taxes. While the study asserts that undocumented immigrants pay taxes at a rate comparable to citizens, it admits that, because of a lack of work authorization, undocumented immigrants typically pay less in income taxes.

"Oftentimes, people think that because someone might not be a citizen, then they're not able to pay taxes," said State Rep. Arturo Alonso, a Democrat from Oklahoma City and a member of the Latino Caucus. "But it's one of those things that isn't really based on facts. The data clearly shows that undocumented immigrants pay taxes."

Namely, Alonso said undocumented immigrants pay the types of taxes that fit into the funding formula for local schools.

"Constitutionally, every resident of the state of Oklahoma has a right to a free education," Alonso said. "So, that's already one of those things that should be guaranteed to every child."

Walters now expects schools to measure the impact of illegal immigration in their communities.

"Oklahoma will step up. We will step in," Walters said. "We will make sure that we understand the cost to taxpayers so that our kids can get the best education possible. So, we are currently working on that guidance."