The county Sheriff's Office plans to start checking the immigration status of those who are arrested and jailed.

Tulsa police, in the recent past, have said enforcing immigration laws isn't their business.

The Tulsa County Sheriff's Office has made it its business.

House Bill 1804 -- signed into Oklahoma law Tuesday -- tries to end the argument, but there's still a great deal of uncertainty on the issue.

The law, which goes into effect in November, says when someone is charged with a felony or drunken driving and put in jail, a "reasonable effort" must be made to determine if the person jailed is legally in the United States or not.

The Tulsa Police Department is awaiting a "memorandum of understanding" between state and federal authorities, said Officer Jason Willingham with Tulsa Police.

"I don't think our policy will ever be 'We're going out to look for illegal immigrants,' " he said. "They commit a crime, and that's when we'll start asking questions. We're not going into an apartment complex and start looking for (resident) papers."

Until the memorandum is worked out, he said the issue is undecided.

"We just don't really know until we get that. It's a legality issue."

The Sheriff's Office, on the other hand, is already in the process of contracting with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to police illegal immigration, said Tulsa County Undersheriff Brian Edwards.

He said the office will soon begin

"It will make the process of dealing with a person whose status is in question a lot more efficient," Edwards said.

"Some of this stuff we probably should have been doing all along."

The Sheriff's Office said its decision to enforce immigration laws was made independent of the state immigration bill.

"The goal is to try to get rid of the criminal element," Edwards said. "That's our goal, to make our community safer and get rid of the criminal element."

Tulsa Police have said in the past that tackling illegal immigration would compromise its community policing efforts.

Illegal immigrants might hesitate to report crimes for fear of deportation, some have said.

However, Edwards said, the burden of the new law will fall most heavily on sheriff's offices that run county jails, where those arrested for felonies and drunken driving are taken and most likely verified as legally present or not.

Edwards said equipment to verify someone's status will be kept at the jail but could be used on the field, as well.

Members of the Hispanic community have worried over how the law will be enforced.

The law says that, if the prisoner can't show documents of legal status in the United States, then verification must be sought within 48 hours through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or a system the department designates.

If that doesn't turn up proof the prisoner is here legally, then Homeland Security must be contacted, the law says.

Another concern has been crowding the county jails.

Edwards said that should not be a problem. Tulsa Jail on Tuesday held 1,430 people and can operate with about 1,650, he said.

Leigh Bell 581-8465
leigh.bell@tulsaworld.com