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What’s up this week at Oklahoma Policy Institute? The Weekly Wonk shares our most recent publications and other resources to help you stay informed about Oklahoma. Numbers of the Day and Policy Notes are from our daily news briefing, In The Know. Click here to subscribe to In The Know.
This Week from OK Policy
Closing the door on lawful immigrants: How HR 1 reshapes the safety net in Oklahoma: When discussing H.R. 1, the 2025 federal reconciliation bill, there’s a familiar talking point that the bill is finally going to stop “illegal immigrants” from getting welfare. The reality, however, is that undocumented immigrants have never been eligible for programs like Medicaid, SNAP (food assistance), or Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies in Oklahoma or the rest of the country. [Gabriela Ramirez-Perez & Kati Malicoate / OK Policy]
Replacing property taxes with sales taxes would hurt everyday Oklahomans (Commentary): Communities hoping to keep services intact once property tax revenue decreases would need to find other funding. For cities and counties in Oklahoma, the options are limited. They cannot raise income taxes, and bonds can only pay for specific projects — not ongoing services. In practice, that leaves only one other option for recurring revenue: sales taxes. And that’s where the real problem starts: sales taxes shift more of the cost onto the people who can least afford it. [Kati Malicoate / OK Policy]
Policy Matters: It’s past time for Oklahoma lawmakers to open the books on the state budget: We’re approaching the halfway point of the legislative session — do you know where your state budget bills are? If you don’t, you’re in good company: most of our elected officials don’t know where they are either. That’s because most of the budget decision-making happens behind closed doors, in conversations the public and most legislators are not allowed to see. [Shiloh Kantz / The Journal Record]
Competing education proposals set the stage for legislative debate (Capitol Update): The contours of the debate on how much the Oklahoma Legislature can accomplish this year for education are beginning to take shape in the House and Senate. The Senate took the initiative early when Education Chair Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, and Vice-Chair Ally Seifried, R-Claremore, announced a $254 million education improvement package. [Steve Lewis / OK Policy]
OK Policy in the News
Oklahoma School District at Center of First-in-Nation ICE Agreement Controversy Denies Signing Anything: A small Oklahoma public school district with its own police force became the first school in the nation to have an agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the agency’s records. But just as quickly, the agreement disappeared from ICE’s website, and school officials deny entering into it. [Oklahoma Watch]
- From OK Policy, What’s That?: 287(g) agreements
The battle for the ballot: How Southern legislatures are trying to block economic progress by restricting access to ballot initiatives: In the few Southern states where voters can access ballot measures—Arkansas, Florida, and Oklahoma—conservative legislators are waging war against the ballot initiative process itself, attempting to obstruct the will of voters and make it permanently more difficult for the public to directly decide on policy choices. [Economic Policy Institute]
- From OK Policy: SB 1027 would exclude millions of registered voters from signing initiative petitions
Upcoming Opportunities
Apply Now For The 2026 Oklahoma Summer Policy Institute
OK Policy’s Oklahoma Summer Policy Institute (SPI) brings together highly-qualified college students, recent graduates, and new policy professionals for a three-day learning experience that informs participants about Oklahoma’s policy landscape and provides tools and resources to create change in our state. Apply by 11:59 p.m., Sunday, May 10, 2026.
Weekly What’s That
Section 287(g) — often called “287(g) agreements” — is a federal program that allows state and local law enforcement agencies to partner with federal immigration authorities. Created in 1996 under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, the program lets certain local officers be trained and authorized to carry out specific immigration enforcement functions under the supervision of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Participation in 287(g) is voluntary under federal law, but some states have passed laws requiring local agencies to sign agreements. These agreements can allow local officers to check immigration status, issue immigration detainers, or transfer people in local custody to federal immigration authorities. Depending on the model used, some deputized officers may also question or arrest people they believe have violated immigration law.
Supporters say 287(g) agreements help with immigration enforcement and public safety. Opponents have pointed to research and past experience showing the program can be costly for local governments and divert law enforcement resources from core public safety duties. Studies have also linked 287(g) programs to racial profiling concerns and strained relationships between police and the communities they serve.
In Oklahoma, more than 30 agencies already participate in 287(g) programs (as of February 2026), and state actions have encouraged additional agreements. As discussions continue in Oklahoma, critics argue the program’s track record suggests significant trade-offs for public safety, community trust, and state resources.
Look up more key terms to understand Oklahoma politics and government here.
Quote of the Week
“A study that looked specifically at immigrant trust in law enforcement found that undocumented immigrants were 61% less likely to report crimes they witnessed if they knew local law enforcement worked with ICE. It undermines public safety for everyone.”
– Gabriela Ramirez-Perez, OK Policy’s Immigration Policy Analyst, said 287(g) agreements and the task force model erodes public trust in law enforcement and would be especially damaging in a school system. [Oklahoma Watch]
Op-ed of the Week
Opinion: Medicaid expansion is good for Oklahoma. Don’t pass HJR 1067
Oklahoma is currently ranked 49th in the ratio of patients to primary care physicians with there being one primary care doctor for every 1,650 to 1,690 patients. Specifically, 75 of 77 counties are considered health professional shortage areas representing 1,177,865 patients. Some rural areas actually have a patient to primary care physician ratio of 25,000 to 1.
When the Oklahoma medical system struggles to meet the needs of those who even have health insurance, it is ludicrous to believe that the few doctors who volunteer at free clinics will be able to meet the needs of over a quarter million Oklahomans if Medicaid is ripped away from these patients. [Lubna Mirza / The Oklahoman]
Numbers of the Week
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69 million – An estimated 69 million American women and 4 million men do not have a birth certificate that matches their current legal name, which would be a requirement of the SAVE America Act. The proposed federal legislation would enact much stricter voter ID requirements. Opponents note this is part of a more aggressive Republican strategy to question the validity of elections. [The 19th]
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2,000 – The estimated number of unauthorized immigrant students ages 14-18 enrolled in Oklahoma public schools. That’s about 63% of all unauthorized immigrants in that age group, indicating that most are actively enrolled and working toward a high school education. [Migration Policy Institute]
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1 in 7 – The share of U.S. public school teachers who either changed schools or left the profession between the 2020–21 and 2021–22 school years. Turnover was especially high among early-career teachers and those working in high-need subjects and schools, raising concerns about staffing stability and student support. [Learning Policy Institute]
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5.3% – The percentage of pregnant people ages 15-44 who reported using illicit drugs in the past month as of 2024 — a 0.4 percentage point increase from 2023. [SAMSHA]
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1.2 million – Estimated number of people who are lawfully residing and/or working in the U.S. who will lose Marketplace coverage and become uninsured due to H.R. 1’s changes. [Center on Health Insurance Reforms]
What We’re Reading
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New SAVE Act Bills Would Still Block Millions of Americans From Voting: In every form, the SAVE Act would require American citizens to show documents like a passport or birth certificate to register to vote. New research shows that more than 21 million Americans lack ready access to those documents. Roughly half of Americans don’t even have a passport. Millions lack access to a paper copy of their birth certificate. The SAVE Act would disenfranchise Americans of all ages and races, but younger voters and voters of color would suffer disproportionately. Likewise, millions of women whose married names aren’t on their birth certificates or passports would face extra steps just to make their voices heard. [Brennan Center for Justice]
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League of Women Voters Denounces House Passage of Anti-Voter SAVE America Act [League of Women Voters]
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Graduating into Uncertainty: Unauthorized Immigrant Students in U.S. High Schools: The U.S. public has for decades expressed sympathy for the situation of unauthorized immigrants who were brought to the United States as children. Yet today, unauthorized immigrant students approaching the end of high school face even greater uncertainty. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is not an option for most current high schoolers, immigration enforcement has intensified in communities across the country, and some states are retreating from policies that would allow these students to pay in-state college tuition. [Migration Policy Institute]
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Teacher Turnover in the United States: Who Moves, Who Leaves, and Why: Teacher turnover in the U.S. is a major driver of teacher shortages, with most open positions each year caused by teachers leaving rather than a lack of new hires. Yet most teachers leave do so for reasons other than retirement — often citing low pay, poor working conditions, and lack of support. High turnover is especially concentrated in high-poverty schools and hard-to-staff subjects, which worsens inequities for students. Reducing turnover — by improving compensation, preparation, and working conditions — is just as important as recruiting new teachers to stabilize the workforce. [Learning Policy Institute]
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Drug Overdoses Are Skyrocketing Among Mothers. Why Is Rehab Unavailable?: Access to addiction treatment is especially constrained for women — particularly mothers — due to the scarcity of gender-responsive programs that integrate essential supports like childcare and trauma-informed care. As a result, many either forgo treatment or enter through less effective pathways such as mental health or primary care settings. Addressing this gap will require expanding specialized services that meet women’s complex needs and removing structural barriers that limit entry into traditional treatment programs. [The Marshall Project]
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Harmful Republican Megabill Takes Away Health Coverage, Food Assistance, Tax Credits From Millions of Immigrants and Their Families: The harmful Republican megabill imposes massive cuts in food assistance, health coverage, and other supports for people with low incomes and singles out immigrants with lawful status and their families for particularly harsh restrictions on assistance. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities]
