Oklahoma Attorney General Genter Drummond sent an open letter Thursday demanding Gov. Kevin Stitt deport refugees from Afghanistan living in the state.
Many Afghans fled their home country after the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Around 1,800 Afghans were resettled in Oklahoma.
In the letter, Drummond said the refugees were "poorly vetted" before being resettled.
Veronica Laizure-Henry, executive director of the Council on American–Islamic Relations of Oklahoma, refuted that claim.
"Refugees actually do undergo very intense background checks and security vetting before they’re ever allowed to board a plane coming near the United States," she said. "These are folks who worked directly with the United States’ military and aid interests in their home country, often at incredibly high risk to themselves and their families."
Laizure-Henry claimed Drummond is using the Afghan community as "a political pawn" as he campaigns for governor.
In his letter, Drummond cited a foiled plot by two Afghan nationals to carry out a mass shooting on election day last year. The attorney general said the two were refugees even though one had been a permanent resident since 2018.
Laizure-Henry said Drummond’s use of that example amounts to collective punishment.
"We maintain that it is unfair to hold an entire, large community accountable for the actions of a very tiny criminal minority,” she said. “We don’t assume that everyone who looks like Timothy McVeigh holds his same views or is as willing as he was to commit violence against others."
According to Molly Bryant, senior director of immigrant & refugee services at YWCA Tulsa, there have been "no folks from Afghanistan who have arrived who have been convicted of any violent crimes."
YWCA Tulsa’s CEO, Julie Davis, released a statement via social media condemning Drummond’s letter.
"Tulsa is better off as a community because of its diverse populations," Davis said."It is deeply disappointing to see community members unjustly targeted."
Bryant said she wants the attorney general to visit the YWCA and meet with their Afghan team members and clients.
"I truly believe it’s much harder to dehumanize people once you’ve looked them in the eye and listened to their stories," Bryant said.
Oklahoma took in the third most refugees from Afghanistan of any U.S. state following the Taliban’s return.
