Tulsa Joins List Of Certified 'Welcoming' Cities In The United States

As of 2023, 18 cities and counties across the U.S. are certified as welcoming. Tulsa is the newest city added to this list, making it the only city in Oklahoma with this title.

Certified welcoming is a formal designation for cities and counties that have created policies and programs, reflecting their commitment to immigrant inclusion.

Tulsa’s Office of Resilience & Equity said when Mayor Bynum launched the new Tulsans initiative years ago, it put Tulsa on a path to become a welcoming city.

Krystal Reyes, Chief Resilience Officer for the city, said the Welcoming America staff came to Tulsa to see what could qualify the city to become a certified welcoming City.

Reyes said the things that stood out were how welcoming the education system is, thanks to all of the initiatives to help international students.

The other areas that could qualify a city are civic engagement, economic development, and health.

"We are having things in place so that as more and more communities come, thrive, and build businesses, attend school, get their degrees, we are ready to tap into that talent. The City of Tulsa can only be successful if we have diverse voices here making decisions and influencing government policy programs, and nonprofit businesses going forward," Reyes said.

Reyes said there are many organizations and people contributing to this and shows how the city welcomes new Tulsans.

CLICK HERE to learn more about Certified Welcoming cities in America.