Oklahoma’s Republican Governor Kevin Stitt has criticized President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement strategy, arguing that voters did not support broad deportation efforts.
Stitt made the remarks on “CNN Newsroom” while speaking with anchor Dana Bash about Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration’s designation for the deployment of more than 2,000 federal immigration agents to the Twin Cities area amid ongoing unrest driven by left-wing agitators.
The renewed unrest followed the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, an armed 37-year-old anti-ICE activist who was killed Saturday after allegedly attempting to draw a weapon during a violent confrontation with federal immigration agents.
Despite governing a state that President Trump carried by more than 30 percentage points in 2024, Stitt suggested the administration had exceeded what he described as the original mandate from voters.
“President Trump closed the border, promised to get violent criminals out of our country, and I think everybody agrees with that,” Stitt said.
“But now Americans are asking themselves, what is the endgame? What is the solution?”
“And we believe in federalism and state rights, and nobody likes feds coming into their state.
“And so what’s the goal right now? Is it to deport every single non -US citizen?
“I don’t think that’s what Americans want,” he continued.
“We have to stop politicizing this.
“We need real solutions on immigration reform.”
Bash pressed Stitt on whether he was calling for the president to withdraw federal agents from Minneapolis.
“Well, I think that the president has to answer that question,” Stitt responded.
“He is a dealmaker. And he’s getting bad advice right now.
“The president needs to let the American people, what is the solution?
“How do we bring this to conclusion?
“And I think only the president can answer that question, because it’s complicated,” he continued.
“We have to enforce federal laws, but we need to know what is the end game.
“And I don’t think it’s to deport every single non-U.S. citizen.”
Stitt also reiterated his support for granting states expanded authority to issue work permits to illegal aliens.
In 2024, he created the Oklahoma State Work Permits and Visas Task Force by executive order, describing the initiative as an effort to “find ways to bolster our workforce and create legal pathways for migrant workers to legitimately contribute to our state without fear,” while exploring options for foreign-born workers to “contribute legally.”
“The border crisis has forced states to find solutions where the Biden Administration has failed,” Stitt wrote in a May 2024 social media post.
“That’s why I launched the Oklahoma State Work Permits and Visas Task Force.
“We want to find ways to create opportunities for people who want to be here and contribute to society.”
Earlier this year, Stitt joined Colorado’s Democrat Governor Jared Polis in publicly urging the administration to give states a larger role in immigration decisions, including the issuance of work permits.
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