Walters seeks Oklahoma AG opinion on impact of Trump order on immigrant students’ education

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma’s public schools chief has asked for clarity over whether a presidential executive order could block federally funded services to undocumented students.

President Donald Trump issued an executive order Feb. 19 stating “that no taxpayer-funded benefits go to unqualified aliens.” The purpose of Trump’s order is to “prevent taxpayer resources from acting as a magnet and fueling illegal immigration to the United States,” according to the text of the decree.

State Superintendent Ryan Walters on Monday requested an opinion from Attorney General Gentner Drummond, asking whether Trump’s order affects federally funded school programs in Oklahoma and, if so, what steps the state should take to comply with the order.

The Attorney General’s Office has received Walters’ request for an opinion and will respond in due course, spokesperson Phil Bacharach said.

Specific programs that could be affected are Title I funds that support impoverished students and “migratory children,” Walters wrote in a letter to the attorney general. Federal dollars also underwrite the National School Lunch Program, which provides free or reduced-price cafeteria meals, and programs teaching English to students who don’t speak it as their first language.

A 1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling forbids states from denying undocumented students access to public education.

Walters has said the Court “got it wrong” in that ruling and has pursued policies that he said would eliminate “sanctuary schools” in the state.

While endorsing immigration raids in public schools, Walters proposed a rule that would require districts to ask families for proof of U.S. citizenship or legal residency during enrollment. Districts would have to report to the state the number of students who couldn’t provide this documentation.

The proposed rule is now before the state Legislature for consideration.

“I am fully committed to ensuring that Oklahoma is a strong partner in advancing President Trump’s agenda for public education,” Walters said in a statement Monday. “Taxpayer dollars should be used to support the education of American students, not to subsidize or create a magnet for illegal immigration. We must ensure compliance with the president’s executive order and take the necessary steps to uphold the rule of law in our schools.”

Both Walters and Drummond have called themselves allies of Trump and the president’s strict immigration policies.

However, requiring citizenship checks in schools has become controversial even among Republicans in Oklahoma.

Gov. Kevin Stitt vocally opposed Walters’ proposal to have schools collect this information. Stitt, though supportive of Trump’s border policies, said checking children’s immigration status is “not a public safety issue.”

The Republican governor called on Drummond, with whom Stitt has had several public spats, and Walters to “do the job you’re elected to do” instead of campaigning for higher office. Drummond is running in the 2026 election for governor, and Walters has long been rumored to potentially join that race.

“I think that’s what’s so frustrating is you see people weaponizing their offices, doing different things to get publicity,” Stitt said in a Feb. 12 news conference. “Maybe they’re doing it out of a clean heart, but it sure looks questionable especially when you pick on 8-year-old kids.”

Stitt also replaced three members of the Oklahoma State Board of Education who voted in favor of Walters’ immigration rule.

In response to Stitt’s critical comments, Walters accused the governor of “ignoring a mandate from President Trump” and contravening the will of Oklahomans. Drummond said Stitt is “not a true conservative.”

Drummond, though, has not commented on whether he supports having schools carry out citizenship checks or denying federal education funds to undocumented children.

He celebrated Stitt’s changes to the state Board of Education but urged the governor’s new appointees to act independently of Walters and Stitt.

“I am hopeful that you realize your duty is to the people of Oklahoma, not to any politician or his personal agenda,” Drummond wrote in a Feb. 13 letter to the new appointees. “While I welcome the governor’s apparent ‘shake-up’ of the board, this action is only necessary because of Gov. Stitt’s extremely poor judgment in appointing, promoting and then endorsing Ryan Walters and his anti-public schools agenda.”

Oklahoma Voice (oklahomavoice.com) is an affiliate of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization, supported by grants and donations. Oklahoma Voice provides nonpartisan reporting, and retains full editorial independence.