OKC Nonprofit Easing Students' Deportation Concerns

<p>More than half of the 46,000&nbsp;students in Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Public Schools are Latino.&nbsp;</p>

Tuesday, April 4th 2017, 11:20 pm

By: News 9


More than half of the 46,000 students in Oklahoma City’s Public Schools are Latino.  

About 86 percent of the 10,000 children in School Board member Gloria Torres’ District 6 in south Oklahoma City are of Latino heritage.  

She said many students fear one or both of their parents will someday be deported, because they at one time entered this country illegally.

“These are the reports that we’re getting,” she said. “Because so many people are repeating the story, it’s just about the change in immigration, that’s the first thing people fear.”

Since back in January, Oklahoma City police have tried to reassure the public they don’t plan mass illegal immigration sweeps.

To help get the right information out to families, Oklahoma City’s Catholic Charities just started a TV and radio public service campaign.  

Catholic Charities Executive Director Patrick Raglow said it’s just the right thing to do.

“We absolutely stand for the immigrant, but we are not a quote unquote sanctuary location, in the sense we are shielding criminals or those from the law,” he said.  

Raglow said OKC Catholic Charities — which serves 46 counties in Central and Western Oklahoma -- will also offer counseling to families “on a case-by-case” basis.

“The situation on the ground is often not as bad as the fear out there would indicate, but there is still a real need for concern,” he said.

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