In January, at least five Native American men were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement during raids in Minneapolis.
It was one of a number of instances where Native Americans were mistaken for undocumented immigrants by federal authorities. In response, lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan bill to improve the Department of Homeland Security’s interactions with Native Americans when they’re proving citizenship.
The Respect Tribal IDs Act would require DHS to work with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and tribal nations to create training for officers so they can better detect and respect current tribal IDs.
The bill was introduced by U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) along with U.S. Reps. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM), Sharice Davids (D-Ka.) and Don Bacon (R-Neb.) Lujan said ICE agents are breaking the law.
“My Native American brothers and sisters, who are American citizens, are being held by ICE agents because these agents do not recognize tribal IDs. It's disrespectful, it's wrong, I would argue, illegal, and that's why we need this legislation,” he said.
Luján said tribal leaders have voiced their concerns about ICE agents detaining their tribal members near their reservations.
“I'll remind you that some of the first awareness that we had about ICE agents going after Native American communities, happened in New Mexico, down in Mescalero and also on the Navajo Nation, and it's happening in other parts of the country as well,” he said.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that ICE agents acknowledge and recognize tribal ID cards as proof of citizenship and there have been no ICE operations on tribal lands.
Lujan said it’s hard to collect data on the number of Native Americans who’ve been detained by ICE because DHS will not release the data.
Meanwhile, some legal scholars are raising concerns about a case brought by the Trump Administration that’s before the U.S. Supreme Court and how it might undermine birthright citizenship for Native Americans.
Support for this coverage comes from the Thornburg Foundation.
