Tulsa Hispanic/Latinx commission forms working group to produce ‘Know Your Rights’ resources amid immigration concerns

The Greater Tulsa Area Hispanic Latinx Affairs Commission on Feb. 13 voted to create a working group to develop educational resources for immigrant and Latino communities, including “Know Your Rights” sessions, information on lawful protesting and guidance about scams and consular services.

Commissioners and staff framed the effort as a response to growing fear and misinformation in the community about immigration enforcement, school enrollment and routine encounters with law enforcement. The commission’s working group will draft materials that can be shared through community partners, social media and — if appropriate — City of Tulsa communications.

The commission’s chair described the proposal as an immediate priority. Commissioners discussed three main strands for the initiative: community-facing Know Your Rights presentations and panels; a short toolkit or “how to protest lawfully” resource to reduce risks during demonstrations; and a public-awareness campaign about scams that target immigrants. Participants proposed partnering with groups that already run similar programs, including the YWCA, the Human Rights Commission, Casa de la Cultura, and local libraries, and inviting volunteer lawyers to offer legal guidance at sessions.

Tulsa Police Department representatives clarified jurisdictional limits and said local officers are not conducting immigration status checks during routine traffic stops. “Right now, the Tulsa Police Department is not... stopping people to look for immigration status. We're not doing immigration checks,” a Tulsa Police Department spokesperson told the commission during the meeting. The commission discussed the distinction between municipal arrests and county/state charges, and noted that people booked into the county jail may be screened by immigration authorities there.

Commissioners raised several community-level obstacles they want the working group to address: lack of clear public statements from some school districts about what schools will require or communicate to families; confusion about powers of attorney for minors (referred to in Spanish as carta poder) and when hospitals accept such documents; and the proliferation of telephone and text-message scams purporting to be from consulates or government agencies.

Speakers recommended practical delivery methods for information: short video modules with QR-code handouts, prerecorded content for social media, and a simple landing page or resource card linking to verified .gov or legal-aid sources. The group discussed whether materials should be City-branded (which would require coordination with city communications) or community-led and grassroots to avoid chilling effects or misuse of sensitive documents.

After discussion, a commissioner moved to create the working group; the motion passed. The commission named an initial roster of volunteers for the working group and said it would coordinate with the executive committee and city communications staff as needed. The commission also agreed to check existing Know Your Rights activities to identify gaps the working group should fill.

Votes at a glance - Motion: Create a working group to develop educational resources on immigration, lawful protest, scams and related community outreach. Outcome: approved (vote taken aloud; no oppose recorded). Working-group members named during the meeting included Mimi, Jessica, Jose, Amanda, Chris, Fatima and the maker of the motion.

The commission said the working group’s early work will include: gathering existing resources, drafting bilingual materials (including audio/video for low-literacy audiences), considering “train-the-trainer” sessions, and preparing suggested talking points about differences among local, county and state law enforcement. Commissioners also asked staff to explore whether city-hosted web pages or QR-code materials could host videos and links to verified resources.

Commissioners and staff emphasized caution about distributing certain documents widely, noting that commission emails and materials may be subject to public-records requests. They also flagged the risk that some information could be taken out of context or misused by bad actors.

The commission said it will reconvene the working group and report progress at future meetings.