Navajo, San Juan County leaders extend accord bolstering voting access
San Juan County and Navajo Nation leaders have agreed to extend an agreement meant to help assure voting access for Navajo residents.
The agreement, stemming from a 2016 lawsuit filed by the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission against the county, extends a prior accord that expired after the November 2024 general elections. Notably, the accord calls for creation of three language-assistance locations and polling places within Navajo Nation land in San Juan County, pre-election advertising in the Navajo language, Diné Bizaad, and employment of Navajo interpreters to aid in the election outreach.
'This settlement affirms a fundamental truth — the voices of Navajo voters in San Juan County matter. We are dedicated to making sure the ballot box remains open and accessible to Navajo language speakers today, tomorrow and every day after that,' said Abby Cook, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah, which helped represent the Navajo Nation.
The Navajo Nation is spread across southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico, but the settlement agreement applies to the Utah portion of the reservation. According to 2024 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, 46.5% of the county's 14,601 residents are American Indians or Alaska Natives.
The original 2016 lawsuit stemmed from the move in Utah in 2014 to mail-in balloting and concerns the change disenfranchised Navajo voters, in part due to unreliable postal service in Navajo Nation territory. The first settlement agreement resolving the dispute was executed in 2018, the second was finalized in 2021, and the new one, extending the varied provisions through the 2028 general election cycle, was inked last week. The San Juan County Clerk's Office is the main county party in the matter.
The new accord, filed in U.S. District Court in Utah, says the goal of those involved is 'to continue to achieve, if possible, a larger turnout by Navajo voters in future elections.' The language assistance, it reads, has 'produced some noteworthy results,' including turnout by voters on the Navajo reservation of 89.07%, which compared to overall Utah voter turnout that year of 90.09%.
Per the agreement, voting information centers will be created in the run up to elections in Montezuma Creek, Navajo Mountain and Monument Valley. 'Each center will be staffed with a trained Navajo language interpreter, offering services including voter registration, ballot replacement, and language assistance,' reads an ACLU press release.
Additionally, election information will be provided in Diné Bizaad, on local radio stations and newspapers.
'All eligible voters have a right to full and equal voting access without barriers, including the right to read and understand their ballot and voting resources,' said Aaron Welcher, spokesman for the ACLU of Utah.
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Two of those deputies will be certified with ICE through the 287(g) agreements, according to Kozak. The first MOA While the TFM and WSO agreements are still pending, the JEM agreement is in effect, allowing deputies to process 'removable aliens,' or immigrants who are suspected of violating immigration laws. Per the memorandum of agreement between LCSO and ICE, deputies assigned to detention duties will perform immigration-related tasks in addition to performing their normal duties. 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LCSO personnel are also required to 'report all encounters with asserted or suspected claims of U.S. citizenship to ICE immediately, but generally within one hour of the claim. From deputy to ICE agent Though he has reiterated the goal to maintain community trust and keep ICE actions restricted to the jail several times, Kozak has recently decided to pursue a contract that will give his deputies immigration authority outside of the jail, the 287(g) TFM. Kozak recently decided to pursue the more aggressive agreement after reflecting on his experience with law enforcement in Avon, Colorado. While in Avon, officers working with Kozak encountered two suspected violent offenders who were abusing approximately 18 victims of human trafficking. 'We asked ICE assistance in that case, and they would not assist,' Kozak said. 'We were almost ready to release the offenders because we had no authority to investigate the federal crimes.' After some pressure, Kozak said ICE eventually assisted. That was in the early 2000s, and now, Kozak says he wants to avoid that situation at all costs. 'I want our deputies who are doing human trafficking interdiction to be able to help victims and do everything all at once,' Kozak said. 'That's the main reason why I changed my mind about (TFM).' The TFM will allow deputies to be a 'force multiplier' in 'non-custodial settings,' essentially acting as ICE agents outside of the jail, which Kozak intends to utilize in drug and human trafficking interdiction operations. Now Kozak says that, assuming ICE is pursuing someone suspected of criminal offenses, deputies trained under the TFM agreement could potentially assist ICE with local operations. Task forces return under Trump While Kozak is hopeful that these deals will help build community trust, the 287(g) TFM has a history of civil rights abuses, particularly racial profiling, which caused it to be discontinued under the Obama administration, according to the ACLU. The option for TFM has only recently returned following an executive order from President Donald Trump in January titled 'Protecting the American People Against Invasion.' 'Depending on how each specific agreement is crafted and enforced, all three 287(g) models may expose local law enforcement agencies to potential liability for constitutional and legal violations,' two representatives of the ACLU of Wyoming wrote in an article published May 14. Despite the agreement's history, Kozak is still intent on utilizing it, pending ICE approval. 'We know I-80 (and) I-25 are the major corridors for human trafficking and drugs,' Kozak said. 'We just want to be effective in what we're doing, and … having our deputies certified to take action on all those issues.' Kozak added that often those involved in drug trafficking are also 'illegal aliens,' though data from the CATO Institute indicates that the majority of drug traffickers in the U.S. are citizens. According to the Department of Homeland Security, 'There is no single profile of a human trafficker; their only commonality is that they are driven by profit at the expense of others.'
