Oklahoma
Oklahoma governor says he wants to deport undocumented immigrants in state prisons
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Gov. Kevin Stitt says Oklahoma will have a plan to deport undocumented immigrants in the custody of state prisons as soon as President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
Saying he didn’t want the state to pay for what he described as the costs of the Biden administration’s open border policy, the Republican governor said he would seek to “expel those serving time in Oklahoma correctional facilities who are in the country illegally.”
Stitt made the announcement in a news release issued Friday, saying he was tapping Public Safety Commissioner Tim Tipton to lead the planning efforts.
“As law and order returns to the White House, Oklahoma will lead the charge with a comprehensive plan to deport those who have committed crimes in Oklahoma while in the country illegally,” Stitt said in the announcement.
“I am still committed to finding ways to pursue state-based workforce visas for those who want to pursue the American dream, but we will not tolerate criminal activity in our state,” the governor said.
Stitt’s announcement said the deportation plans could affect as many as 526 people being housed in Oklahoma Department of Corrections facilities.
The plans quickly attracted criticism and questions.
Rep. Mickey Dollens, D-Oklahoma City, acknowledged that paying to keep undocumented immigrants in state custody could be problematic, but stopped short of supporting Stitt’s plan. “It’s difficult to say I support the governor’s overall idea (and plan) based on a lack of details on how it would be implemented,” he said.
Stitt said he believes Oklahoma’s efforts could serve as a model for other states. But courts have rejected past attempts by Oklahoma officials to address federal immigration issues.
Oklahoma anti-immigration law HB 4156 has faced legal challenges
This year, state lawmakers passed House Bill 4156, a far-reaching measure that aimed to create a state system to regulate immigration.
The bill, which was signed into law by Stitt, makes the first offense for being undocumented in Oklahoma a misdemeanor with jail time of up to a year, or a fine of $500, or both. The second offense would be a felony. The bill would prohibit the ability of the courts or prosecutors to consider probation, delayed or community sentencing, or a future pathway to citizenship. People convicted under the law would have three days after release to leave the state.
That measure, however, was challenged in May by the U.S. Justice Department, which said the bill was an attempt to preempt federal law.
“Oklahoma cannot disregard the U.S. Constitution and settled Supreme Court precedent,” Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said. “We have brought this action to ensure that Oklahoma adheres to the Constitution and the framework adopted by Congress for regulation of immigration.”
A short time later, a federal district court judge issued a court order that prohibited the state from enforcing the bill.
The ruling sparked an appeal by Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond. Drummond said the law was “a powerful tool to counter criminal activity largely being fueled by illegal immigrants coming to our state.”
In September, Drummond asked the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver to reverse a lower court’s preliminary injunction that put the law on hold. The measure creates a crime of “impermissible occupation” and allows law enforcement officers to arrest and jail people living in the United States without legal permission.
“Rather, HB 4156 mirrors federal law by design,” the attorney general’s office said in its brief. “Without a valid cause of action, the United States relied on speculation about how HB 4156 would be implemented, spurious conclusions about the law’s underpinnings, and fundamental misconceptions about a state’s sovereign rights and duties in a federalist system of government.”
Prior to HB 4156, state lawmakers passed House Bill 1804, authored by then-state Rep. Randy Terrill in 2007. That bill eventually had most of its components overturned by a federal judge.
(This is a developing story.)
OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — As an Oklahoma utility company seeks a multimillion-dollar rate increase, two Oklahoma state representatives are asking the Oklahoma Supreme Court to give customers a voice.
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission is currently deciding on a $29 million rate increase for Oklahoma Natural Gas.
If approved, officials say it would mark the fourth rate hike the OCC has approved for ONG in the last four years and has led to an $128 million increase in customer bills.
Rep. Tom Gann, R-Inola, and Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, have filed an appeal with the Oklahoma Supreme Court, saying customers weren’t given a chance to participate in the case.
“The OCC has gone completely off the beam,” ONG customers Gann and Kevin West told the Supreme Court in their June 17 petition.
In the filing, they claim that the OCC set a March 27 deadline to intervene in ONG’s rate case but only set it after the deadline had already passed.
They say ONG’s customers weren’t notified about the case until late April.
“This case was rigged from the start to keep ONG ratepayers out,” said Gann. “The federal courts have said utility customers have constitutional due process rights – including a right to timely and adequate notice about these cases. We are asking the Supreme Court to uphold customers’ rights and require the OCC to change its rules to respect them. ONG ratepayers should be allowed to exercise their right to participate without being muzzled.”
The commissioners are expected to make a final decision on the $29 million rate increase later this year.
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ONG, the OCC, and the attorney general have 30 days to respond to Gann and Kevin West’s latest ONG appeal.
Just 26%, or about one in four registered Oklahoma voters, cast a ballot in the race, according to an analysis of the results.
In total, 630,085 people weighed in on a state question to gradually increase the minimum wage. It was the only race open to Democrats, Republicans and independents, who weren’t eligible to vote in partisan races.
Democrats have typically opened their closed primaries to include independents, but failed to submit the paperwork for this year’s primaries on time. Some voters expressed frustration with the system on election day.
This year’s polls drew fewer voters than in 2018, the last time there was a similar gubernatorial race without incumbents. The election included a state question to approve medical marijuana, and 44% of registered voters cast ballots.
There are almost 1.3 million registered Republicans in Oklahoma, but the GOP race for governor only garnered about 400,000 ballots. Out of more than 613,000 registered Democrats, only about 172,000 voted in Tuesday’s election.
Even though general elections are usually better attended, Oklahoma’s numbers were also low during the 2024 presidential election. One report from the University of Florida rated Oklahoma’s turnout at the time as the lowest in the nation.
NORMAN — Oklahoma softball’s transfer portal activity may have been fairly slow developing.
But now, as the portal window nears its end, the Sooners have started having success.
Oklahoma added outfielder Adi Hansen, a standout at the College of Southern Idaho for the last two seasons on Thursday.
Hansen’s announcement, made on Instagram, followed shortly after Middle Tennessee outfielder Macie Harter announced her commitment to the Sooners.
Hansen led the Golden Eagles with a .457 batting average in 186 at bats in 2026, with an eye-popping 82 runs scored and a school-record 62 stolen bases on 67 attempts.
Hansen had 17 games with two or more stolen bases this season and twice had four stolen bases in a game.
Hansen had four triples and 21 RBIs, drawing 23 walks.
She earned NJCAA first-team All-America honors, helping her team finish 43-13 with a NJCAA Division I Juco World Series appearance.
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In 2025, as a freshman, Hansen hit .401 with 36 stolen bases and 62 ruyns scored.
Hansen is a Logan, Utah, product.
Hansen and Harter join a group of outfielders that includes Kai Minor in centerfield and Ella Parker in right field.
The Sooners lost Abby Dayton to graduation and Kasidi Pickering to transfer after the season. Pickering will reportedly transfer to Texas Tech.
Oklahoma finished 52-10 last season, missing the Women’s College World Series for the first time since 2015 after falling to Mississippi State in three games in the Norman Super Regional.
The Sooners have a strong incoming recruiting class and return a trio of pitchers — Audrey Lowry, Miali Guachino and Allyssa Parker — as well as experienced hitters Kendall Wells, Gabbie Garcia, Nelly McEnroe-Marinas plus Minor and Ella Parker.
In addition to the departures of Dayton and Pickering, the Sooners also lost pitchers Sydney Berzon and Kierston Deal, first baseman Isabela Emerling, and second baseman Ailana Agbayani to graduation. Outfielder Tia Milloy, pitcher Berkley Zache and utility player Riley Zache also entered the transfer portal.
Oklahoma’s incoming class includes Edmond Santa Fe pitcher Keegan Baker, Lakewood, Calif., infielder Ki’ele Ho-Ching, Mililani, Hawaii, infielder Ori Mailo, Fullerton, Calif., pitcher Malaya Majam-Finch, Katy, Texas, pitcher EK Smith, and Mesa, Ariz., outfilder Payton Westra.
Mailo was with the Sooners this season, redshirting after joining the program a year early.
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