Thora Padilla

Since President Trump issued numerous executive orders last month related to immigration enforcement, some Native American communities have raised concerns over the safety of tribal members, with reports of some being detained and being misidentified as immigrants.

The danger from the South Fork and Salt fires has declined across the region thanks to scattered storms and fire suppression. But the impacts will continue for some time. At the Mescalero Apache reservation there are two evacuation shelters, one at the Inn of the Mountain of the Gods resort and the other at their local community center.

On Friday, U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., traveled to the Mescalero Apache Reservation to meet with tribal leaders and families devastated by both the South Fork and Salt fires that continue to burn.