Top lawyer at Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation quits over emailed slur about immigrant

Nolan Clay, The Oklahoman
Updated ·2 min read
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The general counsel for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation abruptly resigned this week.
The general counsel for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation abruptly resigned this week.

The top lawyer at the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has resigned abruptly over an email that used a derogatory term to describe an immigrant lacking permanent legal status.

The email was written by Jana Wallace in 2022 while she was a judge. Why it came to light this year is unclear.

In the email, she refers to an immigrant lacking permanent legal status as a "wet back."

Wallace, 61, became general counsel at the OSBI after stepping down in November from the judiciary. She had been an associate district judge for 14 years in Pushmataha County, which is in far southeast Oklahoma.

"My dad told me when you make a mistake, you face it, own it and then move on," she told The Oklahoman Friday in a text message. "That is exactly what I've done."

She said she dearly loves the OSBI and resigned so the email would not reflect negatively on it. She also said "someone had a vendetta against me or just wanted to embarrass me and/or the OSBI."

The OSBI has special agents who investigate many of the state's most sensational crimes. Wallace resigned from there Thursday.

The email − obtained Friday by The Oklahoman − referred to a father from Mexico by the derogatory term. She sent the email to a lawyer at the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety because of a divorce case.

More: Mexican slur has long history in politics

The OSBI declined to comment Friday about her resignation, saying it is a personnel matter.

Wallace
Wallace

The same derogatory language has surfaced in recent media accounts about former President Donald Trump's pledge to deport millions of noncitizens if reelected. His plan is being compared to an Eisenhower-era military-style effort called "Operation Wetback."

The email shows Wallace asked on April 21, 2022, if a Mexican driver's license is valid "if the individual is here illegally."

"No green card, no visitor visa etc. (wet back basically)," it states. "The reason I am asking is for a divorce.

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"He has had a child with an American and he wants to be able to drive with the child. My policy is no valid DL no driving with the child. ... I have always operated under the theory of, 'if you are illegal everything about you is illegal'!"

The Department of Public Safety attorney responded that "his status as a resident (whether legally residing or illegally residing) invalidates his Mexican license."

In a second text message Friday, Wallace said she honestly didn't remember writing the email.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: New OSBI general counsel resigns over slur about immigrant in email