Two signs are held up during the May Day March In Manhattan, New York on May 1, 2025. The largest of the signs is in the foreground and reads"We Are a Nation of Immigrants," while the smaller in the background reads, " WE ARE ALL (EXCEPT NATIVE...

Help Wanted: Oklahoma’s Immigration Crisis and the Urgent Need For Habeas Counsel

Oklahoma has a growing immigration enforcement crisis.

By Travis Handler

Latest Event


The Alabama Solution

Join us for an important screening of The Alabama Solution, followed by a community conversation around detention conditions in Oklahoma. The Alabama Solution is a powerful documentary that exposes the realities of Alabama’s prison system and centers the voices of those living within it. The brutality shown in the documentary is not unique. In a way, it shows every prison because of the violence and oppression that prison breeds. The film invites us to confront the human cost of incarceration, the forces that allow injustice to persist, and the urgent need for accountability and systemic change. Join advocates working across issues of incarceration, immigration detention, and the death penalty in Oklahoma for a community conversation after the screening that discusses how the film relates to what is happening in Oklahoma and actions you can take to fight injustice in our state.

Hosted by the Tulsa Artist Fellowship, the Julius Jones Institute, and the ACLU of Oklahoma, this event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served, and we will be joined by local community organizations who will provide free resources and ways to stay involved in advocacy efforts.

The Alabama Solution text with a prison in the background

More from the Press


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Stay informed on civil rights issues. Discover our latest actions and updates in the Press Release section.

LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST TRUMP NOMINEE SCOTT PRUITT FOR DENYING PUBLIC ACCESS TO POLLUTER EMAILS

Center for Media and Democracy, ACLU Allege Scott Pruitt Violated Oklahoma Open Records Act, Failed to Release 3,000 Emails and Other Documents for Over Two Years; Asks Court to Block Pruitt from Destroying Any Emails

By Bryan Newell

Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt

Tulsa and Oklahoma City Provide Strong Examples for Oklahoma Municipalities in Response to Immigration Executive Order

By Bryan Newell

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ACLU of Oklahoma and Councilman Ed Shadid Issue Statements in Response to Tulsa Police Department’s Declaration That It Is Not A Deportation Force

January 26, 2017Oklahoma City– In response to Tulsa Mayor GT Bynum and Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan’s assertion that the Tulsa Police Department will not become a federal dragnet deportation force, the ACLU of Oklahoma released the following statement:Please attribute the following to Ryan Kiesel, Executive Director:“The ACLU of Oklahoma is pleased to see Mayor Bynum and Police Chief Jordan honoring their commitment to protect all of the citizens of Tulsa, regardless of immigration status. Attempts to conscript local law enforcement into dragnet deportation forces are reckless, irresponsible, and counterproductive. Tulsa cannot be safe when crime victims and potential informants are too afraid of deportation to cooperate with the police.Resisting Executive Orders that force agencies to abet the federal government’s proposed reckless mass internment and deportation of immigrants is an important step in building trust between law enforcement and the communities it serves. To the extent that this declaration ensures that Tulsa will be a city free from unnecessary and counterproductive immigration enforcement, the ACLU applauds the Mayor and Police Chief’s actions.We call today upon municipalities and counties small and large to follow Tulsa’s lead by unequivocally announcing their intentions to resist the Trump administration’s attempt to coopt local law enforcement agencies and to affirm their commitment to ensuring that all those who wish to live in their communities are welcome and safe. While we welcome the opportunity to change minds through reasonable policy analysis, any municipalities and counties that intend to waste their limited public safety resources by implementing a dangerous and counterproductive policy, should, at the very least, be clear about where they stand and serve notice to the citizens they are choosing not to protect.” Please attribute the following to Oklahoma City Councilman Ed Shadid: All cities face police manpower challenges; Oklahoma City is no different. We need to focus our precious, limited resources on public safety for all of Oklahoma City’s peoples, not towards assuming responsibilities of the Federal Government. I look forward to OKCPD Chief Bill Citty’s comments on the matter at the next City Council meeting on Tuesday, January 31st (under City Manager Reports). I would encourage those interested to come to the city council meeting, if they are able, in order to participate in the discussion (sign up to speak under “Citizens to be Heard”).

By Bryan Newell

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ACLU of Oklahoma Statement in Response to Requirement that Private Businesses Post Anti-Abortion Propaganda in Restrooms

By Bryan Newell

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Media Advisory: ACLU of Oklahoma to hold Press Conference Announcing Summary Judgement Motion in Transparency battle with Governor

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By Bryan Newell

Will you stand with us?

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By Bryan Newell

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ACLU of Oklahoma Statements in Response to State Question Election Results

By Bryan Newell

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ACLU of Oklahoma 2016 State Question Voter Guide

By Bryan Newell

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ACLU of Oklahoma Responds to Terence Crutcher Toxicology Report

By Bryan Newell

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