Legislative Updates: Immigration (April 3, 2026)

Welcome to this week’s immigration-focused newsletter, where we recap the latest developments on this legislative session’s slate of immigration related bills. As always, for more details on the bills discussed, visit OK Policy’s Immigration Bill Tracker.

New From OK Policy

Oklahoma lawmakers once again push for more harmful anti-immigrant bills: This legislative session, lawmakers filed more than 30 immigration-related bills on subjects ranging from property rights to education to public benefits. The vast majority of these bills would further marginalize and penalize Oklahoma immigrants, while also creating negative spillover effects for U.S. citizens. Oklahoma lawmakers should stop targeting a segment of our neighbors for political gain and instead focus on what actually strengthens our state: ensuring every Oklahoman has the opportunity to succeed. [Gabriela-Ramirez-Perez / OK Policy]

State Developments

NOTE: Following successful passage of a bill in its chamber of origin, it becomes “engrossed” and is sent to the opposite chamber.

House

Senate bills have until April 9 to pass out of their policy committee in order to keep moving. SB 1633 has been assigned to the Postsecondary Education policy and it will be heard next Tuesday at 10:30am.

• SB 1633 by Brenda Stanley – Scheduled to be heard in the Postsecondary Education policy committee Tuesday at 10:30am in room 450.
  • The bill removes a provision that allowed students who graduated from Oklahoma high schools and resided in the state with their legal guardian to be eligible for in-state tuition, even if they couldn’t provide documentation of U.S. citizenship or immigration status.
  • You can watch the committee meeting here and the floor hearing here.

Senate

House bills have until April 23 to pass out of their Senate committee. Both HB 4422 and HB 4423 were assigned to the Health and Human Services committee, which typically meets Mondays at 1:30pm, meaning these bills have three opportunities to be heard before deadline week.

• HB 4422 by Kyle Hilbert – Assigned to Health and Human Services Senate committee.
  • The bill mandates the use of SAVE to verify the eligibility and legal status of applicants for TANF and SNAP. If an applicant’s status can’t be confirmed, the Attorney General will notify ICE.
  • You can watch the policy and oversight committees here. You can watch the floor debate here.
  • Assigned to Health and Human Services.

• HB 4423 by Kyle Hilbert – Assigned to Health and Human Services Senate committee.
  • The bill mandates the use of SAVE to verify the eligibility and legal status of applicants before receiving state health care benefits. If an applicant’s status can’t be confirmed, the Attorney General will notify ICE.
  • You can watch the policy and oversight committee meeting here. You can watch the floor debate here.

Next Steps

Now that bills have crossed over to the opposite chamber, they have to once again pass out of committee. Senate bills have to pass out of the policy committee by April 9 and House bills have to pass out of the Senate committee by April 23.

Ways to get involved

In order to stay alive, the remaining anti-immigrant bills have to pass out of committee. Reach out to committee members to let them know how you want them to vote! 

Below are some potential speaking points to help you during your conversation with legislators.

• For HB 4422 and HB 4423, click here to see the Health and Human Services committee members.
  • The SAVE database is unfit to verify citizenship or immigration status and its errors have even resulted in U.S. citizens being labeled as “potential noncitizens.” 
  • This will create a chilling effect that will discourage eligible Oklahomans from applying for benefits and it will primarily harm children and families.

• For SB 1633, click here to see the Postsecondary Education committee members.
  • Forcing Oklahoma students to pay out-of-state tuition would more than double the cost of attending college and effectively prevent hundreds of perfectly qualified students from attending.
  • Oklahoma has the fifth-lowest share of degree holders in the country; it is against the state’s best interest to make it harder for our students to get a higher education.

Don’t know who your legislator is? Find them here.

Other notable immigration news

The news stories included in this section may be distressing to readers. While it is important to stay informed on the changes to immigration policy that affects our friends, family, and neighbors, it is also important to take care of yourself. We advise being intentional about engaging with news media and taking breaks as needed. Now more than ever it is important to practice resilience and stay rooted in community.

State

• Oklahoma ICE agreements have netted agencies millions, data shows [The Oklahoman]
• Where is ICE investing the most money? Oklahoma near the top, data shows [The Oklahoman]
• Proposed Oklahoma law would make state to report non-citizens who apply for benefits [NPR]
• Immigrants no longer eligible for SNAP [KOSU]
• Choctaw Nation purchases facility at heart of ICE detention center rumor [Fox 25]
• Four Oklahoma governor candidates debate at Freedom Caucus event [The Oklahoman]

Federal

• Supreme Court majority seems inclined to rule against Trump on birthright citizenship [NPR]
• US to close Afghan refugee camp, leaving over 1,000 allies in limbo [Scripps News]
• Immigrants seeking US asylum being ordered to third countries [AP News]
• Administration must restore legal status for thousands of immigrants, judge rules [ABC News]
• SCOTUS, birthright citizenship and what’s a stake for education [NPR]
• Asylum applications will be reviewed again for most countries [NPR]
• East African asylum seeker deported by U.S. to Equatorial Guinea [PBS News]
• DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin ends contract approval policy [The Oklahoman]
• DOJ says it erroneously relied on ICE memo to justify immigration courthouse arrests [NBC News]
• Mexican immigrant died in US immigration custody, ICE says, marking 14 deaths in 2026 [Reuters]
• DHS pauses plans to buy warehouses for immigrant detention [NBC News]
• Trump DOJ Dropped 23,000 Criminal Investigations in Shift to Immigration [ProPublica]
• Trump’s visa freeze sidelines foreign doctors, disrupting health care [POLITICO]