Oklahoma’s top elected education official sent a “demand letter” to Vice President Kamala Harris that essentially served as an invoice for what the illegal immigration crisis under her tenure overseeing the border has cost Sooner State schools.
“As the statewide elected Superintendent of Public Instruction of the State of Oklahoma and the Executive Officer of the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE), it is my duty to ensure that the resources allocated to our public schools are counted for and used in the most effective manner possible for the benefit of Oklahoma students’ education,” Ryan Walters wrote to Harris.
In August, Walters tasked the department to work with school districts to calculate the financial impact borne by taxpayers on illegal immigrant minors. That analysis resulted in an estimate of $474.9 million, which he demanded of Harris in the letter.
“This demand amount is, by necessity, an estimate because only your administration knows the true number of illegal immigrants crossing this nation’s borders and the actual costs of illegal immigration,” he said, calling for Harris to conduct a potentially more accurate accounting of the costs incurred by Oklahoma schools.
“Under your supervision, the costs in education due to illegal immigration have risen astronomically. Your failed oversight and efforts are a direct cause of the current crises Oklahoma and other states now face. Oklahoma taxpayers, schools, teachers, and parents should not bear the burden of your failings. They deserve better,” Walters said.
In a Tuesday interview, Walters said the border crisis is “crippling” Oklahoma schools, and that paying for these minors’ education is the “largest unfunded mandate in the country.”
