Mark Y. A. Davies

An Open Letter to the Mayor and City Council of Oklahoma City

Photo credit: Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman

Dear Mayor David Holt and Members of the City Council of Oklahoma City,

In response to a Threads post opposing a possible ICE detention center in Oklahoma City (dated January 18, 2026) that tagged Mayor David Holt and which stated “We absolutely do not want this and do not need this in OKC,” Mayor Holt wrote:

“Due to the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution, no federal agency will ever seek approvals from the city government. This kind of project, whether it is real or not, would never come to City Hall. I would encourage you to express your concerns to your Congressional representatives, as they are the only people with any jurisdiction” (Threads, January 18, 2026).

I understand that the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution of the United States means that “no federal agency will ever seek approvals from the city government” and that it makes any vote by the OKC City Council in opposition to ICE or in opposition to an ICE detention center in Oklahoma City symbolic, but symbolic is better than silence, symbolic is better than nothing, symbolic can inspire action. Other cities are taking such stands, and it makes a difference in encouraging the people of the city as a whole to resist the egregious federal overreach of current ICE practices and to resist the violent and unconstitutional actions being taken by ICE in our communities.

I am imploring the Mayor and the City Council of Oklahoma City to please take a public and official stand (through a City Council vote) in opposition to the actions of ICE, to oppose any establishment of an ICE detention facility in Oklahoma City, and to call for ICE out of OKC and ICE out of our communities. Future historians will understand taking a symbolic action. They will rightly condemn silence.

Sincerely,
Mark Davies
Citizen of Oklahoma City in Ward 8

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Published by Mark Y. A. Davies

Mark Davies is the Wimberly Professor of Social and Ecological Ethics and Director of the World House Institute for Social and Ecological Responsibility at Oklahoma City University. Mark serves as the Environmental Ethics Consultant for the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church. He has published in the areas of Boston personalism, process philosophy and ethics, and ecological ethics. He serves on the United Methodist University Senate, which is “an elected body of professionals in higher education created by the General Conference to determine which schools, colleges, universities, and theological schools meet the criteria for listing as institutions affiliated with The United Methodist Church.” Mark and his wife Kristin live in Edmond, OK in the United States, and they have two daughters. The views expressed by the author in this blog do not necessarily represent the views of Oklahoma City University or the United Methodist Church.

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