TULSA, Okla. — United States Senator James Lankford made a stop in Green Country, speaking at a congressional forum downtown. Before that, 2 News had a chance to talk with him on a number of issues. He spoke about the partial government shutdown, namely its impact on Oklahoma.
"What we're experiencing is a lot of folks just calling in to be able to get an answer, and they're saying, I can't get you an answer right now, that employee is on furlough," Lankford said. "That slows down some of that process."
WATCH: Senator Lankford talks ICE, government shutdown during Tulsa visit
The other big topic? ICE and what's actually happening in our communities and around the country.
"What I hear from people most is they want to know the numbers and the stats because the numbers are all over the place," Lankford said. "What are we dealing with, criminal aliens that are actually being removed?"
Lankford says that according to Customs and Border Protection, 70% of people removed by ICE have a criminal record.
"These are folks with DUIs. These are folks with rape. These are folks with molestation. These are folks with other robbery and other criminal records on it," Lankford said.
Here locally, there's been multiple school walkouts against ICE. 2 News asked the senator about that specifically.
"Obviously, people can get a chance to be able to protest," Lankford said. "They can also experience the consequence of that in real-life terms. We've had some schools step in and say, hey, if you walk out of school, we don't know where you're going. You're going to be suspended."
Speaking of protests, Indivisible Tulsa held one right outside where Lankford spoke.
"Lankford historically has been unwilling to talk to all his constituents," Heather Crim said. "So we just wanted to come out here and be seen, and make sure he knows we're here."
Crim says the group's main focus is ICE's actions.
"We all want a safe and secure country, but we also want to be safe and secure as citizens, and that's not what is happening right now," Crim said.
Senator Lankford added that his office has requested tours of ICE facilities to see for himself how they're operating.
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