Mass Exodus from Oklahoma? Immigrants and Latinos Stay and Weather a State of Capture

2012
Publisher
Journal of Latino - Latin American Studies

Oklahoma is at the forefront of restrictive immigration policies sweeping the country. Since 2007, the Sooner State has enacted a series of policies designed to reduce the number of immigrants in the state. Is there evidence that such policies succeeded in creating an immigrant exodus? Despite widely-cited accounts of massive flights from the state, government data suggests that most Latinos and immigrants—with the possible exception of unattached Latinos—have stayed in Oklahoma. Those who choose to withstand a hostile climate also undertake strategies to evade detection and arrest, live in a ‘state of capture,’ and risk encountering the encroaching reach of law enforcement in order to make a living. These strategies can partially account for the perception of a mass exodus.