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An Oklahoma faith leader has asked the Trump administration to allow clergy inside immigration detention centers to offer pastoral care for detainees.

Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, who is president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told a group of local parishioners that the request was among the issues he discussed during a high-profile meeting with President Donald Trump in January. At a recent gathering at Little Flower Catholic Church, Coakley shared several details about the meeting, which included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem…

Voices Organized In Civic Engagement, known as VOICE-OKC, hosted the gathering at Little Flower to give immigrant parishioners an opportunity to speak directly to Coakley and to hear from him as their archbishop and the president of an influential coalition of American bishops based in Washington, D.C. The Rev. Tim Luschen, pastor of Little Flower, is one of VOICE-OKC's founding members.

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Starla considered her options carefully — pay her fines from previous incarceration or pay for groceries and a place for her and her children to stay.
"It was either eat and have a place to lay my head or pay my tickets," she said.

(She) chose to pay for food and rent instead of her fines. Her choice set in motion a familiar cycle...after almost 10 years of incarceration...those unpaid fines and penalties were waiting for her upon her release — and they had multiplied to the tune of about $11,000 owed to three different counties.

The former inmate shared her story before the start of a free Fines and Fees Client Clinic hosted by Voices Organized In Civic Engagement, or VOICE, and Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma. Representatives of VOICE member organizations and Legal Aid teamed up to help Starla and other formerly incarcerated individuals fill out forms designed to help judges determine their ability to pay fines and fees from previous incarceration….

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ACTION Tulsa, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization, hosted an event this week at Congregation B’nai Emunah titled “Who Is My Neighbor?” The event focused on dispelling myths about immigration and featured the story of Mohammad Paiman Faqirzada, an Afghan immigrant who resettled in Tulsa in 2021.

With over 650 letters in hand from Oklahomans expressing concern about recent immigration enforcement, VOICE, ACTION, and the National Association of Evangelicals met with Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt to discuss the impact and future of immigration policy. 

The council passed a resolution calling for Gov. Kevin Stitt to temporarily block residential evictions unless a landlord is responding to a tenant’s criminal behavior or dangerous activities.

“We’re really just asking the governor to pay attention to Oklahomans who are really struggling right now” as a result of the COVID-19 shutdown, said City Councilor Lori Decter Wright, one of the sponsors of the resolution.

The push for a statewide eviction moratorium started with a Tulsa religious coalition known as ACTION and a similar group called VOICE-OKC in Oklahoma City, where the City Council has said it will vote on a similar resolution.

In effect until July 25, a federal moratorium already applies to rental properties that have federally backed mortgages, but the Tulsa City Council wants the same protection for tenants in all rental properties.

Landlords would benefit, as well, said Councilor Kara Joy McKee, explaining that tenants would ultimately still have to pay their rents in full but would have more time to seek employment or government assistance.

“Our tenants and landlords need this support at this time,” McKee said.

[Photo credit: Joey Johnson, Tulsa World]

Tulsa City Council Asks Gov. Stitt To put Most Evictions In State On Hold, Tulsa World