Native American Tribes Say Members Harassed by ICE

Several Native American tribes have issued warnings to their members over the past week based on alleged encounters with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials that have caused anxiety and tension within their communities.

Speaking on tribal radio station KTNN on Monday, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said several Navajo members have raised concerns regarding ICE and their crackdown down on illegal immigration. Nygren said his office has received reports that Navajos have had "negative, and sometimes traumatizing, experiences with federal agents targeting undocumented immigrants in the Southwest."

Nygren's statement comes a week after President Donald Trump began implementing his mass deportation of criminal migrants. Nygren has advised Navajos to always carry their state-issued identification or their Certificate of Indian blood, known as a CIB. "It's best to be prepared," he said. "Having your state ID is crucial, and if you possess a CIB, it can provide an additional layer of reassurance."

Anxiety in native American tribes is high due to Trump's attempt to end birthright citizenship where the Justice Department used the 1884 case of Elk v. Wilkins as justification for the order. An indigenous man at the time named John Elk attempted to expatriate himself from his nation to claim birthright citizenship under the 14th amendment. The DOJ argued that "birth in the United States does not by itself entitle a person to citizenship, the person must also be 'subject to the jurisdiction' of the United States." It raised a case from 1884 that found members of Indian tribes "are not 'subject to the jurisdiction' of the United States and are not constitutionally entitled to Citizenship."

Navajo Nation officials told CNN on Monday that at least 15 indigenous people in Arizona and New Mexico have reported being stopped at their homes and places of business and asked to produce proof of citizenship since last week.

Kathleen Wooden Knife, president of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, issued a statement saying she will "fiercely defend against any threat to the sovereignty of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and protect the rights of tribal members."

Likewise, the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation announced a new policy in recent days to improve accessibility to tribal identification for its members. "By waiving fees and expanding access to Tribal IDs, we are empowering our members and protecting their sovereign rights as birthright citizens of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, Tribal chairman J. Garrett Renville said in a statement.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

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