City Council Approves Immigrant Status Checks

Friday, May 25th 2007, 9:51 am

By: News On 6

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 nightâ€™s meeting, the resolution was amended to include misdemeanor arrests.

Some, who attended Thursdayâ€™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 Thursdayâ€™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.

Watch the video: Tulsa City Council Tackles Immigration Reform

Related stories:

5/22/2007 Tulsa City Council Mulls Immigration Plan

5/24/2007 - Still No Decision In Tulsa Immigration Plan