Thread: Tulsa: Many unhappy with immigration resolution

Many unhappy with immigration resolution
Last Update: May 25, 2007 7:50 PM



(DOWNTOWN TULSA, Okla.) May 25 - Many people in the Hispanic community are not happy with a city council resolution that targets illegal immigrants.



The resolution passed last night, and would require city police officers to check the immigration status of anyone arrested for a felony or misdemeanor.



If they're found to be illegal, the resolution says police must notify immigration and customs enforcement within 24 hours.



When someone is arrested they’re required to provide one of three things, a driver’s license, immigration papers or a green card. If this resolution becomes an ordinance and you don’t have either of those things, ICE will be notified.



Waitress Flora Gonzalez says she's worried what this new resolution could do to her community. “I see it like racial profiling. To me if a police officer automatically sees a Hispanic person, he’s going to pull him over.â€

Willingham says ICE has already stated they're only interested in terrorists or known violent offenders and if they do choose not to follow up, nothing will happen.

Absolutely ridiculous!

Waitress Flora Gonzalez says she's worried what this new resolution could do to her community. “I see it like racial profiling. To me if a police officer automatically sees a Hispanic person, he’s going to pull him over.â€

Mayor Kathy Taylor was out of town today and couldn't be reached for comment. But a spokeswoman said the mayor was in support of a resolution requiring immigration checks for felonies only.

Kathy needs a spine.

City Council Approves Immigrant Status Checks
KOTV - 5/25/2007 9:51 AM - Updated 5/25/2007 9:58 AM
The Tulsa City Council has approved a resolution to allow Tulsa Police to do immigration checks during arrests. City council discussions lasted late into the night on Thursday. After a lot of discussion, the council finally passed a resolution shortly after 11:15 p.m. approving the checks by a 6 to 3 vote.

The resolution originally applied only to felony arrests, but during Thursday night’s meeting, the resolution was amended to include misdemeanor arrests.

Some, who attended Thursday’s meeting, say the resolution does not go far enough. "What about the citizens that are victims at the hands of illegal aliens we have here in Tulsa. Why must we wait for an individual to be arrested for a felony before we ask about citizenship," says Tulsa Minuteman Wendell Neal.

On the other side, immigrant proponents say the resolution casts a negative image of Tulsa. "Tulsa, Oklahoma, like Oklahoma, are being known as the most anti-immigrant city in America," said Rev. Victor Orta with the American Dream Coalition.

Leaders of of Outraged Patriots, as well as leaders from the Coalition of Hispanic Organizations also attended Thursday’s meeting. The audience at the Tulsa city council meeting did get loud during parts of the meeting and the city council had to quiet them down.

http://www.kotv.com/news/topstory/?id=128139

Key Officials Meet To Discuss The City's Immigration Policy
KOTV - 5/31/2007 9:48 AM - Updated 5/31/2007 5:20 PM
Tulsa's mayor attempts to clarify city policy on dealing with illegal immigrants in a high level meeting with federal officials. It was the first meeting between the key officials who determine what happens when an illegal alien is arrested. The News On 6’s Emory Bryan reports politicians, police and immigration were all in one room, and out of that meeting, the mayor says, came at least one breakthrough on how they can all work together.

Tulsa’s mayor says one big change could come out of one small piece of information gathered from her meeting with immigration and customs.

"I think they will respond more promptly after this meeting,â€

The mayor said Tulsa Police didn't have the right phone numbers for ICE but now they do.

Talk about out in left field; this woman isn't even in the ballpark

[quote]But Flora thinks this resolution is just the beginning. “Everything that we’ve worked so hard for gets taken away just like that.â€

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Accurate immigrant count sought

by: JIM MYERS World Washington Bureau
5/31/2007 7:35 AM


Lawmakers became involved in a council debate because they want an immigration office in Tulsa.


WASHINGTON -- Key members of Oklahoma's congressional delegation said Wednesday they jumped into an ongoing debate about Tulsa police procedures on immigration because they want federal officials to get accurate figures on how many illegal immigrants are in the area.

"They need to help us if we want to help them," U.S. Rep. John Sullivan said.

Sullivan also expressed hope that a meeting at Mayor Kathy Taylor's office on Thursday with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials will address fears about an expansion of police procedures.

Such efforts, he said, will help land an ICE presence in Tulsa.

"I think if we get more of this data, it will put us right over the top," said Sullivan, who says current figures reported to ICE by Tulsa remain low.

"They say it looks like you don't have any illegal immigrants in your community."

Sullivan and U.S. Sens. Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn, all Republicans, weighed in on the debate by sending a May 24 letter to the Tulsa City Council as members prepared to vote 6-3 for a nonbinding resolution to have local police check the immigration status of those arrested for felonies and misdemeanors.

It is unusual for members of Congress to become so involved in a local issue, especially one that requires a vote.

In their letter, Sullivan, Inhofe and Coburn urged the council to adopt a proposal to allow police to ask for proof of citizenship "on all suspected illegal aliens" encountered by officers in the course of their regular duties.

They also spell out differences with a proposal pushed by the mayor, a Democrat.

Taylor supports an approach that would have police check the legal status of only those arrested on felony charges, not on misdemeanor charges.

"We urge you to reject this proposal," Sullivan, Inhofe and Coburn wrote.

They insist the proposal they support is not racial profiling.

"We reject racial profiling as a means to enforce immigration law at all levels of government," they wrote.

Sullivan said their proposal is not racial profiling because those encountered by police will have either a driver's license or a green card to prove legal status.

But an official with the state Department of Public Safety said an Oklahoma driver's license cannot be considered proof of legal status at this time. She cited recent changes in law designed to address that, but conceded she could not say a license will prove legal status even in 10 years.

When asked why he, Inhofe and Coburn took the unusual step of writing a letter to the council, Sullivan said a strong message needed to be sent.

"To get the resources that the mayor says she wants to get for local law enforcement, we have to have an accurate portrayal of what is going on in Tulsa," he said.

Inhofe agreed, saying inaccurate reporting on the number of illegal immigrants in the Tulsa area would have had a negative effect on efforts to gain an ICE office in Tulsa.

A Coburn aide said the senator also believes barring police from checking immigration status of those they pull over could affect the data used to determine whether Tulsa receives an ICE office.

He said Coburn views the resolution passed by the council as a step in the right direction.

Sullivan and Inhofe seemed more satisfied.

"I am pleased that two-thirds of the City Council agreed with the delegation, and I would certainly hope that the mayor would not stray from the council's clear recommendation," Inhofe said.

Sullivan said he hopes a meeting with ICE officials Thursday will help the resolution stand.

"I may have wanted to go a little further, but I think it is great what they did," he said.

Taylor declined to comment.

She has the option of vetoing the council-passed resolution or taking no action and allowing it to go on the books as a recommendation from the council.

Because it is a nonbinding resolution, the mayor does not have to follow it, even if she does not veto it.


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Jim Myers (202) 484-1424
jim.myers@tulsaworld.com



Associate Images:



Sullivan




Inhofe




Coburn





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