Immigration assistance groups flooded with phone calls after new law signed

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Phones are ringing off the hook and e-mails are flooding in to immigration rights and assistance groups in the Tulsa metro after Governor Kevin Stitt signed a bill making illegal immigration a state-level crime.

The bill signed on Tuesday doesn’t take effect until July 1, but even when the bill was just a concept, calls started coming in from immigrants both legal and illegal wanting to prepare for possible detainment, arrest, prosecution and even removal from the state.

“99% of the calls we get is what is going to happen to me and my family now,” said Tulsa Immigration Attorney Mosiah Olvera with the Erwin Law Office near Cherry Street.

Olvera said despite politicians assuring Latinos they will not be racially profiled, even if they are here legally or even full U.S. citizens, exists, and many have doubts they will not be targeted simply for having brown skin.

“I heard the governor today say we’re not targeting anyone and no one should be afraid. The fear is real and it’s happening,” he said.

Olvera himself is a Dreamer and the son of illegal immigrants. He is now a full U.S. citizen and now helps other immigrants in Tulsa and throughout Green Country.

He said there are real and tough conversations happening in Latino homes in the Tulsa metro as people wait for the law to kick in.

“When Arizona tried to pass the law when I was little, I can tell you the conversations that are happening right now. You have moms and dads sitting down their kids trying to explain to them ‘hey, if I don’t come home because I don’t have status, I need you to be a man. I need you to be a big boy. I need you to be a big girl. I need you to take care of your siblings. The property we own, the papers are over here. The emergency contacts are over here. My little stash of money in case you need to pay bills is over here. I need you to be a big girl and a big boy and take care of your siblings.’ Those are the types of conversations that are happening right now,” he said.

The U.S. Supreme Court eventually ruled the State of Arizona was acting unconstitutionally, but now a majority of the court has new members since that decision. Republicans believe the court’s conservative majority will now let them tackle illegal immigration on the state level.

The bill just signed by Stitt makes anyone found to be in Oklahoma illegally guilty of a misdemeanor. They will face some jail time and or a fine and then they must leave by 72 hours. If they do not leave, it becomes a felony with jail time and or a fine and leaving the state is still expected.

At the YWCA in south Tulsa, the calls are the same.

“I don’t drive around with my passport or my birth certificate, but at this point what’s to stop a police officer from asking for my proof or my citizenship right? I think maybe a person like me won’t be asked that question, but other folks will be asked that question. I think there is a layer to this that people need to be concerned about profiling,” said Alex Gavern, director of legal services.

Gavern said there is fear in a lot of the calls, even with people who are legally in the U.S. The YWCA is working on getting many people ready with the documents they need and other legal work that will help them stay out of police custody should they be questioned about their status.

“We’re asking state officials to become immigration practitioners overnight to understand a complex and everchanging body of work. As people in a particular expertise, we expect there will be phone calls across the board,” Gavern said.

Gavern said in addition to assisting immigrants, the YWCA expects calls from local law enforcement, criminal defense attorneys and others who also have questions about what is expected of them under the new law and what rights someone has if they are asked about their status.

“So many people are calling, asking what’s going to happen to me and my family, or even my friends or my neighbors who I care about,” Gavern said.

Both said the law is unfair to asylum seekers and other people who have legitimate cases pending, but they don’t have documents or have been approved to be here yet.

“This idea that we’re doing something to help immigration, we’re not. Oklahoma’s not doing anything to help resolve the issues at the border. It is using taxpayer expense to make politicians look good in front of the camera,” Olvera said.

Both the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office and Tulsa Police have made statements saying racial profiling will not be tolerated and unacceptable among their agencies. They also have received no new guidance or resources to be able to verify someone’s status. They also expressed concern that the new law will increase distrust between Latino communities and law enforcement, which they say will lead to unreported crimes and a spike in criminal activity in certain neighborhoods.