With reports of tribe members caught up in ICE crackdowns, leaders offer tips to stay safe
With reports of tribe members caught up in ICE crackdowns, leaders offer tips to stay safe
Tribal leaders in Wisconsin are warning tribal members to beware of ICE agents because of President Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration, because there are reports of some U.S. citizens being detained.
ICE is the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a federal agency that operates independently of local and state police.
'During these uncertain times as the Administration continues with its immigration crackdown, we ask that all tribal members prepare for the possibility of being stopped, detained and questioned regarding your citizenship,' read a Jan. 29 letter from the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican Tribal Council to tribal members.
This comes after social media reports from tribal members who say they were briefly detained in some parts of the country in what appear to be cases of profiling.
"Native Americans are being caught up in the raids and detained," the letter read. "ICE has already detained Native Americans in the Southwest and we need to be prepared here in Wisconsin."
Some tribal members reported being detained for several hours closer to the border with Mexico.
In Arizona, state and Navajo tribal officials responded to reports of Navajo tribal members being detained for hours by ICE agents and urged tribal members to carry their tribal IDs or Certificate of Indian Blood.
Arizona State Sen. Theresa Hatathlie informed the Navajo Nation council about a tribal member who was detained despite showing Certificate of Indian Blood ICE agents failed to recognize it as valid proof of citizenship, according to a Navajo Nation press release as reported by the Arizona Republic.
Stockbridge-Munsee tribal officials are urging tribal members to carry their tribal, state and/or federal IDs with them wherever they go and to remain respectful if they are stopped by ICE agents.
'The Stockbridge-Munsee Tribal Council is working diligently to ensure the safety and security of its citizens, and tribal members living on and off the reservation,' the letter said. 'We are in contact with our state and federal partners, attempting to resolve this matter on a broader scale while putting in place a safety net to assist tribal members who may need our help.'
The Stockbridge-Munsee Reservation is located adjacent to the southwest side of the Menominee Reservation in northeast Wisconsin around Bowler.
Ho-Chunk Nation President Jon Greendeer is looking to create "tribally enhanced identification cards" with the Department of Homeland Security that are easily recognizable to ICE agents.
"Identity verification is a concern among members of federally recognized tribes causing a lot of anxiety for Indigenous families," he said in a statement. "As a result and as a responsibility of our Ho-Chunk Nation to ensure and provide for health, safety and welfare of each of our tribal member, we are undertaking steps to assist in preventing unnecessary detention and/or questioning related to identity verification and validation."
Greendeer issued an executive order on Jan. 30 to waive the fee for tribal IDs for tribal members starting Feb. 3 and created a program to reimburse tribal members who obtain their passports.
Menominee Nation officials said they also are making tribal IDs or certificates of Indian blood free for tribal members who don't have them in response to reports of ICE agents detaining Indigenous people around the country.
"The Tribe will be ready to confirm the identity of our tribal members and descendants if ever contacted by ICE," read a letter to tribal members from Chairwoman Gena Kakkak's office.
Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe officials reported there have not been incidents involving ICE agents on the tribe's 86,000-acre reservation in northern Wisconsin as of Jan. 30.
"However, given the recent enforcement actions affecting other tribal nations, we urge our members to remain cautious," read a statement to tribal members. "We remain committed to ensuring the sovereignty of our nation and the well-being of all those who reside here."
They are urging tribal members to report any suspicious activity involving ICE agents on the reservation to tribal police.
America's first peoples won U.S. citizenship in 1924, but have had to fight for full rights, including voting, in many places ever since.
One executive order being scrutinized by tribal officials across the country is the ending of "birthright citizenship," which has since been blocked by a federal judge for being unconstitutional.
Several news outlets have reported that Trump's Department of Justice attorneys were questioning whether Native Americans could be considering U.S. citizens, according to a 19th century law that excludes Indigenous peoples from birthright citizenship.
Frank Vaisvilas is a former Report for America corps member who covers Native American issues in Wisconsin based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact him at fvaisvilas@gannett.com or 815-260-2262. Follow him on Twitter at @vaisvilas_frank.
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