With Oklahoma facing a $900 million hole in their state budget, republicans in the legislature are trying to find a solution without raising taxes.
Some have proposed firing non-essential college employees or drop a film tax credit that could save the state close to $5 million.
Or if they follow Representative Mike Ritze's plan.....saving $60 million by handing over 82,000 non-English speaking students and handing them over to ICE officers.
“Identify them and then turn them over to ICE to see if they truly are citizens — and do we really have to educate noncitizens?”
He disagrees with the idea that the state should be responsible for educating non-citizenship holding students.
However a 1982 Supreme Court decision, Plyler v. Doe, prohibits states from denying education to undocumented immigrants.
He didn't exactly say how his plan would work, whether it be handing over a list with thousands of names or just have the state to massive roundups.
His plan is being slammed by advocates from civil liberty groups and even members from Ritze's party and have since distanced themselves.
Co-chairman of the Republican Platform Caucus Representative Chuck Strohm says deporting students isn't something he supports.
“This caught many of us by surprise, because that’s not the direction that we talked about.”
Schools Superintendent Joy Hofmeister, also a Republican, says the idea of rounding up children is "utterly shameful".
“Our lawmakers face a very daunting task and time is running out, but surely there are better options than threatening kids. Investing in education – all the way from early childhood through high school – is an investment in our state’s economic and cultural future. I know the vast majority of our Legislature wants to do right for education, but there is no benefit to floating outrageous ideas that seek to punish kids.”