Illegal immigration is hot issue in some county sheriff races

Before House Bill 1804 went into effect in November, Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz was vigilant in enforcing federal immigration law.

Since then, he has had more than 30 deputies trained in enforcing federal immigration law, he has helped deport more than a 1,000 illegal immigrants from Tulsa County, he boasts of a 7 percent decline in jail population, and he's enjoyed growing popularity among a vocal element of residents.

In this election year, Glanz is unopposed.

"I do think immigration has been a part of this, absolutely,” said Carol Helm, director of Immigration Reform for Oklahoma Now. "He has certainly been an enforcer of the rule of law. And the statistics prove it. That is exactly what the citizens want, and that's exactly why the bill was passed in the first place.”

Immigration Reform for Oklahoma Now, based in Jenks, is a grassroots anti-illegal immigration group, one of hundreds across the nation that make up the movement. Immigration Reform for Oklahoma Now, like other Oklahoma anti-illegal immigration groups — such as Outraged Patriots, based in Beggs, and OK-SAFE, based in Oklahoma City is loosely affiliated with national groups such as the Federation for American Immigration Reform, NumbersUSA and the Center for Immigration Studies.

In Oklahoma, there are roughly 35,000 to 40,000 Oklahoma residents who are active in these groups, Helm said.

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