Legislative Updates: Immigration (April 10, 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.

State Developments

House

Yesterday was the deadline for bills to pass out of their policy committee. They now have until April 23 to pass out of the oversight committee.

• SB 1633 by Brenda Stanley – Passed Postsecondary Education policy committee 6-3.
  • 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 Senate committee meeting here and the floor hearing here.
  • You can watch the House policy committee meeting here.
  • The bill is now headed to the Education oversight committee.

Senate

House bills have until April 23 to pass out of their Senate committee and be eligible to be heard on the Senate floor. As of Friday, HB 4422 and HB 4423 have not been put on the agenda yet, but make sure to check the Senate Meeting Notices as agendas are frequently uploaded and modified.

• 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.
  • Assigned to Health and Human Services.

Next Steps

Now that bills have crossed over to the opposite chamber, they have to once again pass out of committee. Bills in both chambers have to pass out of their remaining committees 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 Education oversight 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

• ‘Where is our dad?’ – Decades after a non-violent conviction, an Oklahoma farmer faces deportation [Public Radio Tulsa]
• Trump administration pushed Oklahoma to run immigration bills [KOSU]
• Skip tracing, AI helping contractors find undocumented immigrants [KFOR]

Federal

• Kids in ICE Detention Up 10x in Trump’s Second Term [The Marshall Project]
• A day in the life of a 19-year-old in ICE detention: ‘I feel that this nightmare is not going to end’ [The Guardian]
• Your Loved One Is Stuck in Immigration Detention. It Will Cost $25,000 to Get Them Out. [Talking Points Memo]
• Death of Vietnamese immigrant in Indiana facility is latest ICE detainee fatality [ABC News]
• Welcome to Miami: America’s Most ICE-Besieged City [The Bulwark]
• Just 2% of Immigration Court Filings Based on Alleged Criminal Activity in February 2026 [Trac Reports]
• How the White House’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee is impacting America’s ability to attract global talent [CBS News]
• New Immigration Rule Will End Or Restrict Student Practical Training [Forbes] 
• Trauma and resilience in immigrant children amid mass deportation [Cronkite News]
• Trump’s mass deportation plan has broken the quiet of small US towns: ‘We have to take care of each other’ [The Guardian]
• How Trump Purged Immigration Judges to Speed Up Deportations [The New York Times]
• Congo to receive third-country deportees from the US under new deal [AP News]
• Stephen Miller Is Still Pursuing His Immigration Agenda, but More Quietly [The New York Times]
• Texas’ Big Bend braces for border wall in national park, worrying local Republicans and Democrats [NBC News]