In February, Walters requested an opinion from Drummond on whether an order from President Donald Trump banning federal money from going to undocumented people would apply to undocumented students receiving benefits like free and reduced lunches or Title I funding.
The request could have put Drummond — who is running for governor in 2026 and a recent vocal supporter of Trump — at odds with the administration.
Monday afternoon, Drummond responded, praising Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration and spending much of the letter lambasting Gov. Kevin Stitt’s handling of immigration issues.
He criticized Stitt for welcoming Afghan refugees, leaving “refugees” in quotation marks. He said they were “poorly vetted” and cited an instance in which one of the more than 1,800 Afghan refugees was arrested for planning a mass shooting. He also criticized Stitt’s partnership with the Mexican government to establish a Mexican Consulate in Oklahoma City.
“Governor Stitt has done nothing to ensure that state services in Oklahoma are delivered exclusively to American citizens and lawful residents,” Drummond wrote. “Indeed, I am unaware of a single instance where Governor Stitt even sought to collect citizenship information that would help us understand exactly how much money our state wastes each year on delivering services to illegal immigrants.”
Stitt’s office said in a statement to StateImpact the governor will “continue to… protect both Oklahomans and the innocent children in our communities.”
“Sadly, once again, we are just getting noise from people campaigning for their next political promotion,” the statement said.
On Walters’ request, Drummond said the executive order addresses heads of federal agencies, not state agencies. Walters is instructed to cooperate with however federal agencies implement the order. He calls the request “nothing more than manufactured political drama.”
“Notwithstanding your rumored aspirations,” Drummond wrote to Walters, “you are not part of the federal executive branch. Your request asks this office to interpret a federal law in conjunction with a federal executive action. Accordingly, the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office does not have the appropriate jurisdiction to opine.”
Drummond called the Trump executive order a “model for Oklahoma,” and reiterates that governors have the authority to issue executive orders for state departments.
He said in the meantime, Walters should focus on improving students’ test scores and reading proficiency.
“The people of this state entrusted you with the critical responsibility of administering and managing public education,” Drummond wrote. “Fulfilling that responsibility should be your only focus.”
Walters said in a statement to StateImpact he was “disappointed but not surprised” by Drummond’s response.
“[Drummond] has a responsibility to offer opinions on all laws, not just the ones he deems worthy,” Walters said. “Once again, he is refusing to support President Trump’s executive order on illegal immigration at a time when we all need to move forward with a unified front to protect Oklahoma families.”
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