State Superintendent Walters files $474 million lawsuit against ICE, Homeland Security

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — State Superintendent Ryan Walters is suing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security for $474 million, according to a press release from the Oklahoma State Department of Education

Walters filed the lawsuit in the U.S. Western District Court of Oklahoma on Tuesday, alleging that the Biden-Harris Administration failed to secure the border which resulted in the use of taxpayer dollars to fund education for undocumented immigrant children.

In the suit, Walters says Oklahoma spends over $13,736 per student enrolled in local school district based on a report from the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs. He goes on to say the approximate 3,000 undocumented unaccompanied minors residing in Oklahoma have cost taxpayers roughly $41.2 million since the start of the Biden-Harris Administration.

Walters is requesting reimbursement for costs including:

• recruiting and retaining additional and bilingual teachers, tutors, and other school personnel,
• recruiting and retaining additional school counselors to address academic concerns among the immigrant children due to insufficient prior education, and cultural differences and integration into the Oklahoma public school system,
• increased costs in determining the actual number of undocumented immigrant children that must be educated,
• increased costs due to academic and language assessments necessary to develop a plan for educating undocumented immigrants,
• increased costs incurred to transport a greater number of children statewide via public school transport systems,
• increased costs to determine whether the additional children need nutritional assistance via the public school system,
• increased costs to assess the need for Individualized Education Plans (“IEP”) when presented with language and cultural barriers that may result in incorrect, initial assessments.

The $474 million figure mentioned in the press release is not included in the copy of the lawsuit obtained by News 4.

The full lawsuit can be read below.