Oklahoma Immigration Arrests Top 1,800 in 2026
Oklahoma Immigration Arrests Top 1,800 as Local ICE Partnerships Expand
Immigration-related arrests involving Oklahoma law enforcement agencies have climbed sharply in 2026 as more state and local departments work directly with federal immigration authorities.
An analysis of federal records by the Deportation Data Project found more than 1,800 Oklahoma immigration arrests in 2026 from January through July through local partnerships with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. That compares with about 1,200 arrests during all of 2025 and fewer than 500 in 2024.
The increase comes as Oklahoma has expanded participation in ICE's 287(g) program, which allows trained state and local officers to perform certain federal immigration enforcement duties under ICE supervision.
Oklahoma Immigration Arrests in 2026 Rise Through 287(g) Partnerships
The Oklahoma immigration arrests in 2026 were made through agreements authorized under Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Under those agreements, ICE can delegate specific immigration enforcement functions to trained state and local law enforcement officers. Depending on the type of agreement, participating officers may identify people who could be subject to removal, process people already in custody, serve administrative warrants or exercise limited immigration authority during routine police duties.
ICE currently operates three versions of the program: the Jail Enforcement Model, Task Force Model and Warrant Service Officer Program. Each gives participating agencies different levels of authority and operates under federal training and oversight requirements.
Oklahoma formalized additional statewide cooperation with federal immigration authorities in 2025. State agreements announced that year gave participating Oklahoma officers authority to question people about immigration status, execute immigration warrants, issue detainers and assist with transfers to federal custody.
More information about how those partnerships work is available through the ICE 287(g) program.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol Plays Major Role in Immigration Enforcement
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol has become a visible part of the state's immigration enforcement effort through its participation in Operation Guardian.
The initiative was developed to increase cooperation between Oklahoma law enforcement and federal immigration agencies and to transfer people identified as removable into federal immigration proceedings.
OHP has also participated in targeted highway operations involving commercial vehicles.
During one 15-hour Operation Guardian enforcement action along Interstate 40 in 2025, troopers and ICE officers made more than 500 contacts and conducted 209 commercial vehicle inspections. State officials reported that 70 people were taken into immigration custody, including 34 people who had been operating commercial motor vehicles.
Another enforcement action that year along western Interstate 40 resulted in more than 125 immigration apprehensions, according to the governor's office.
Those operations show how immigration enforcement in Oklahoma has expanded beyond jails and detention centers and into routine and targeted highway enforcement.
Official information about the state's initiative is available through the Oklahoma Operation Guardian overview.
Federal Data Shows Most Arrested Had No Prior U.S. Criminal Conviction
The Deportation Data Project analysis also examined the criminal histories recorded for people arrested through Oklahoma's partnerships.
According to the analysis, fewer than 20% of the more than 1,800 people arrested from January through July had a prior U.S. criminal conviction, and five had previously been convicted of a violent crime.
Those findings have become a point of disagreement between immigration advocates and federal officials over how the arrests should be characterized.
The Department of Homeland Security disputed the interpretation of the data, arguing that federal immigration enforcement records do not always capture criminal histories from other countries and that immigration violations themselves can provide grounds for federal enforcement.
ICE says its 287(g) partnerships are intended to help identify and process people who may be removable under federal immigration law. Its official guidance states that local officers operating under the program receive federal training and remain subject to ICE direction and supervision while carrying out delegated immigration duties.
ICE also uses immigration detainers to request continued custody of certain individuals already being held by federal, state or local law enforcement agencies when ICE believes there is probable cause that the person is removable under federal law.
More information about those procedures is available through the ICE immigration detainer guidance.
With more than 1,800 arrests recorded in just seven months, Oklahoma's expanding network of local and federal immigration enforcement partnerships is already producing significantly more arrests than during previous full calendar years.
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