Tulsa's ICE Program A Success, Sheriff Says

By Jennifer Loren, The News On 6

TULSA, OK -- An invitation for discrimination or a solution to a growing problem? Arizona's strict new immigration law brought hundreds of demonstrators to the state capitol this weekend.

The new law makes it a state crime to be in the U.S. illegally. And it means police will be able to ask anyone, anywhere to prove their legal status and demand to see a driver's license or state ID.

In Oklahoma, a similar program has been in place since 2007. But the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office says people must be arrested before immigration enforcement kicks in.

"Before we started the program a person could be arrested five or six times of the same offense and no one ever knew he was here illegally," Stanley Glanz, Tulsa County Sheriff, said.

Now, offenders are asked where they're from and why they're here when they're booked in jail. And offenders can be asked to prove their documentation. If they can't, they are turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

"It's been very successful," Sheriff Glanz said. "Of the people that we've arrested, over 6,000 have been identified as in the country without documentation."

But others argue that the people arrested aren't the criminals law enforcement should be targeting.

"Traffic violator's not hard core criminals, rapists, murderers and everyone else that is on that fugitive operations list," said Marvin Lizama, an attorney.

Marvin Lizama is president of the collation for the American Dream. He says programs like this one create fear and discrimination.

"The community is in fear right now because of what is going on around the country especially in Arizona," Lizama said. "It started in all with the 1804 bill that was made in 2007, so the community has been afraid ever since."

But the Tulsa County Sheriff says the numbers speak for themselves. Tulsa County has seen a 13% reduction in major crime in the last year.

Civil rights activists say the law in Arizona will lead to racial profiling. They fear Hispanics will be harassed by police because of their race. President Obama calls Arizona's law "misguided" and has instructed the Justice Department to investigate if it's legal.