By Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond
We knew that a second Trump Administration would be as different from the Biden years as night is from day. President Trump has wasted no time delivering tangible results that will have a tremendously positive impact on Oklahoma.
The most significant actions affecting our state are President Trump’s executive orders regarding illegal immigration and border security. While the previous administration refused to enforce federal law and secure our southern border, President Trump immediately made it clear there is a new sheriff in town.
One of his first orders included a commonsense declaration that Americans have known for years now: Our porous southern border is a national emergency, and we are suffering from an invasion. No state has been immune from the effects. Years of an open border have in effect made every state a border state.
In Oklahoma, we have suffered greatly. The invasion of illegal marijuana grows is the most glaring example. These facilities are run by organized crime syndicates and drug cartels, using illegal immigrants from China, Mexico and South America as cheap labor. It should be no surprise that this criminal element also engages in human trafficking, sex trafficking, and distribution of dangerous drugs like fentanyl.
I created an Organized Crime Task Force to partner with state, tribal and local law enforcement so we could fight back against the saturation of illegal marijuana operations. When I was sworn in as your Attorney General, Oklahoma had more than 12,000 licensed marijuana grows. Today there are fewer than 2,800 – and we are not letting up.
Under the Biden Administration, federal law enforcement refused to detain and deport most of the criminals we caught. They simply released them with a polite request to “report back” for a “hearing” at a later date. Under President Trump’s direction, any individual who is in our country illegally gets deported.
President Trump also has issued executive orders designed to address the incentives our country provides to illegal immigrants. One of these orders, “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” declares that children born on or after Feb. 19, 2025, must have at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident in order to automatically obtain U.S. citizenship.
Another order, “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders,” is designed to ensure that the federal government only provides services to U.S. citizens and those who are legally eligible to receive them. The implementation of this order would save American taxpayers untold billions of dollars and would remove one of the most notorious incentives that can fuel illegal immigration.
Contrast these actions with the Biden Administration, which encouraged illegal immigration through open borders and then rewarded illegal aliens with taxpayer-funded luxury hotel rooms.
Oklahomans benefit greatly from the Trump Administration’s new approach. It truly is a night and day difference from the Biden White House, and our communities are safer and more secure as a result.
