OKLAHOMA CITY– Republican Governor Kevin Stitt sent shockwaves through the state when he made a statement this week rejecting proposals to require Oklahoma Public Schools to check the immigration status of students.
During his weekly news conference Wednesday, Gov. Stitt doubled down on his criticism of far-right Oklahoma Superintendent of Education Ryan Walters.
In an attempt to gain appeal from the Trump administration, Walters approved plans with the State Board of Education to require schools to check Oklahoma students’ immigration status and potentially turn over the information to the federal government.
As one of his first acts in office, twice-impeached, felony-convicted President Trump removed immigration enforcement protections for schools, churches and hospitals.
Continuing his taxpayer-funded tour on conservative media, Walters has publicly pushed for more targeting of immigrant students in the state.
“Collecting 6-, 7-, 8-year-old kids’ addresses and immigration status in the state of Oklahoma, that’s not a public safety issue,” Gov. Stitt said Wednesday. It came a day after he removed three members from the State Board of Education, accusing Walters of prioritizing politics and headlines over improving students’ abysmal test scores.
Oklahoma’s education rankings are among the bottom 10 in the nation, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Stitt breaks from targeting immigrant students in schools
Gov. Stitt has eagerly moved forward with an Oklahoma immigration plan called Operation Guardian, an effort to comply with Trump’s deportation goals by removing undocumented violent offenders from the state’s jails and prisons. Yet, he surprised Republicans and Democrats alike when he blasted Walters’ plans to target children in schools.
Advocates have warned of a chilling effect on school enrollment, and hundreds of Oklahomans have organized protests at the state Capitol and surrounding schools over the last few weeks.
“Let’s go after the bad guys. Let’s go after people that are committing crimes, and let’s not terrorize and make our kids not show up at school,” Stitt said. The statements came after he removed three members from the State Board of Education, accusing Walters of prioritizing politics and headlines over improving students’ abysmal test scores.
Oklahoma’s Democratic lawmakers expressed support for the move after months of Democratic-led efforts to impeach Walters or limit his authoritarian actions.
“I’ve previously stated the governor had the power to appoint new members to the board in order to improve accountability,” Senate Minority Leader Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City said. “This action has been a long time coming and could be a positive step on behalf of Oklahoma schools.”
Republicans running for governor team up against Stitt
Stitt’s surprise defense of schools has drawn pushback from two of the most powerful men in Oklahoma state politics. A 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision–Plyler vs. Doe–established that states cannot deny education based on immigration status. The ruling was based on an interpretation of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Those facts haven’t stopped Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters and Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond–both Republicans running for Governor in 2026–from blasting Stitt in a pair of statements.
“Not only is the governor ignoring a mandate from President (Donald) Trump, he’s going against the will of Oklahomans,” Walters stated. The far-right superintendent, who once suggested the Tulsa Race Massacre wasn’t caused by race, responded by enlisting two of the fired board members onto his own personal Trump advisory committee.
Walters referred to Stitt as part of the “swampy political establishment that President Trump is fighting against.”
Meanwhile, AG Drummond, who once marketed himself as a moderate that Republicans and Democrats could support, shared Walters’ statement in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“It looks like another one of my fellow Republicans finally took the red pill and now realizes what I’ve been saying all along: Kevin Stitt is not a true conservative,” Drummond stated.
Immigration advocate blasts Oklahoma proposal
Notably, Gov. Stitt’s rejection of the proposal comes weeks after a national immigration organization urged state leaders to drop it.
“Requiring school districts to prove parents’ citizenship illegally chills access to this opportunity and interferes with schools’ ability to focus on their core mission: to educate children and give all students the ability to grow, thrive, and participate fully in our democracy,” Nicholas Espíritu, deputy legal director at the National Immigration Law Center, stated on Jan. 28.
“We call on the state legislature and the governor to unequivocally reject this blatant attempt to undermine access to education for Oklahomans,” Espíritu said.
Ultimately, despite being governor of a state that gave Trump overwhelming support in each of his three presidential races, Stitt has broken from Trump’s authoritarian targeting of students trying to learn. As lawmakers prepare to vote on the proposal, Stitt said he will stop it from becoming law.
He also pledged to hold Ryan Walters accountable five years after he first nominated Walters to the post of Education Secretary.
“And so, when you’ve got failing test scores and you’ve got this kind of turmoil and drama and he’s the superintendent of education, he needs to be held accountable for that.”
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