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Controversy implicit students' migration information
Former precocious schoolhouse teacher Ryan Walters was elected Oklahoma authorities superintendent of schools successful 2022, but much than 2 years later, the authorities inactive ranks 49th successful education.
"I was elected to crook the state's acquisition strategy around," Walters told CBS News. "We were 49th erstwhile I was elected. We're moving to determination each these things around, and it takes a melodramatic displacement successful education."
As helium works connected addressing that problem, helium has besides turned a batch of his attraction to President Trump's wide deportation plans.
"We should beryllium utilizing each of our resources to marque definite we are supporting what President Trump is wanting to do," Walters said.
Earlier this year, the Oklahoma State Board of Education approved a connection requiring students to taxable their migration presumption during schoolhouse enrollment. Walters said helium would stock that information with national authorities. The connection indispensable inactive person the support of the Oklahoma Legislature, which started considering it past week and could ballot connected it this month.
"Well, we're pursuing their enforcement order," said Walters, successful notation to an enforcement order Mr. Trump signed instantly aft opening his 2nd word that allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to marque arrests adjacent schools and places of worship. "So, erstwhile you person an enforcement bid that says, nary longer volition churches and schools not springiness implicit accusation that they're asked for, we took that earnestly successful Oklahoma. So we began to instrumentality it. Well, if you request to get accusation from america and from our schools, you person to archetypal cod the information."
Walters' presumption connected the contented has angered immoderate students and teachers successful the state. A sojourn to Carnegie Elementary School successful Tulsa successful precocious January drew dozens of protesters.
But 1 of Walters' loudest and astir astonishing critics is blimpish Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, who archetypal met Walters astatine a tennis lucifer and helped motorboat his governmental career.
He doesn't judge the Trump medication is really requesting the migration presumption of students.
"Every clip I've heard President Trump speech astir this, he's talking astir making definite we cognize who's coming successful our country," Stitt told CBS News. "And past besides making definite that we get the transgression constituent out. I've ne'er erstwhile heard him say, 'I privation to spell stitchery up 8-year-olds' migration status."
When asked astir the issue, a White House authoritative told CBS News that it doesn't privation undocumented immigrants "or gangs to instrumentality refuge and fell retired successful schools oregon churches due to the fact that they cognize instrumentality enforcement can't spell inside."
The authoritative added that it is "not a directive" for Department of Homeland Security agents "to spell into a schoolhouse oregon church."
"Our agents usage discretion," the authoritative said. "They would besides request secondary supervisor support earlier immoderate enactment tin beryllium taken successful locations specified arsenic a religion oregon a school. We expect these to beryllium highly rare."
The governor, meanwhile, has replaced 3 Oklahoma State Board of Education members aft Walters projected checking students' migration status.
"When I recovered that out, I was going to propulsion each lever I could to unwind that rule," Stitt said.
Walters couldn't disagree more.
"The governor's perfectly dormant incorrect connected this," countered Walters, who said Stitt's presumption connected the migration presumption won't perturb him.
"No, look, we're going to determination guardant with what we're doing," Walters said. "The world is we are pursuing enforcement orders."
Shanelle Kaul is simply a CBS News analogous based successful New York City.
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