Latest news with #CertificateofIndianBlood
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
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 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. Sign up for the First Nations Wisconsin newsletter Click here to get all of our Indigenous news coverage right in your inbox 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@ or 815-260-2262. Follow him on Twitter at @vaisvilas_frank. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Indigenous leaders warn tribes about getting caught up in ICE raids
USA Today
31-01-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
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@ or 815-260-2262. Follow him on Twitter at @vaisvilas_frank.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump immigration raids snag U.S. citizens, including Native Americans, raising racial profiling fears
American citizens, including citizens of Native tribal nations, have been pulled into the vast immigration operations ordered by President Donald Trump in accordance with his campaign vow to conduct mass deportations since Day 1. Those who are getting caught in Immigrations and Customs Enforcement raids are being targeted because of their race or skin color, according to witnesses. The Navajo Nation Office was flooded with calls from tribal members living off-reservation, with many reporting being questioned about their identity by ICE officers, Native News Online reported. Questioning of Navajo Nation citizens, who are American citizens, by ICE has been problematic enough that Navajo President Buu Nygren took to the airwaves to address it. On tribal radio station KTNN, Nygren said he had received accounts of 'negative and sometimes traumatizing' encounters between ICE and Navajo Nation citizens, Native News Online reported. He advised Navajo Nation residents to carry identification, driver's licenses and their Certificate of Indian Blood. NBC News reached out to ICE regarding the detaining and questioning of Navajo Nation citizens and complaints of racial profiling, and has not yet received a response. One of the employees detained and questioned by ICE at a seafood wholesaler during an immigration raid in Newark, New Jersey, was a U.S. citizen and military veteran. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka denounced the ICE raid, saying the military veteran "suffered the indignity of having the legitimacy of his military documentation questioned.' Regarding the raid, ICE stated they 'may encounter U.S. citizens while conducting field work and may request identification to establish an individual's identity.' The seafood wholesaler's owner, Luis Janota, told WPIX in New York that his warehouse manager, who was also detained, was Puerto Rican. Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory and its residents are U.S. citizens. 'It looked to me like they were specifically going after certain kinds of people — not every kind. Because they did not ask me for documentation for my American workers, Portuguese workers or white workers,' Janota told the station. ICE has stepped up arrests and deportations since Trump took office. While he had said he would prioritize violent criminals, his "border czar," Tom Homan, also said this week that arrests of undocumented immigrants without criminal convictions — which the administration calls collateral arrests — would occur. On Sunday, almost half of the people arrested, 48%, had nonviolent offenses on their record or were people who had not committed any offense. Being in the U.S. without legal status is a civil violation. Entering the country without inspection, between ports of entry or based on false statements — what is considered illegal entry — is a misdemeanor. Re-entering, or attempting to re-enter, is a felony. The criteria for who is arrested and deported will soon be expanded, however. A bill awaiting Trump's signature, the Laken Riley Act, will allow the arrest and detention of people who are not legally in the country and have been charged — they do not have to be convicted — with burglary, theft, larceny, shoplifting, or crimes that lead to death or serious bodily injury. 'When you don't have enforcement priorities, everyone is subject to detention,' said Rosanna Eugenio, legal director at the New York Immigration Coalition. 'It also creates this situation that leads to increased profiling. How do you tell that someone does not have legal status in this country or is in the process of seeking legal status? You can't tell that by looking at someone. But it will create conditions where there will be profiling of communities, immigrant communities, and communities of color.' The administration is not relying only on ICE officers to make the arrests. The president ordered personnel in several agencies to assist in arresting and detaining immigrants, and some states and cities also are assisting or have said they are willing to assist. Some arrests have been made in cities where officials support the arrests, but the administration also has been targeting cities whose officials have said their local law enforcement would not assist Trump, On Tuesday morning, several law enforcement agencies made arrests in New York City. The arrests were showcased on social media in posts by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and the Drug Enforcement Agency. The mass deportation efforts may soon run into funding realities. Homan has said Congress will have to pony up more money to pay for Trump's mass deportation pledge and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has said "we don't have the resources." As Trump's immigration crackdown spread to more cities and towns around the country, immigration advocates were trying to make sure immigrants know what to do if they are caught in the crackdown. 'Our best defense in this moment is people knowing their rights. Stay calm, don't lie. Remain silent. Don't consent to the search,' said Murad Awadeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition. 'Do not open the door without a judicial warrant, as well as making sure that it's signed by a judge.' During the campaign, Trump frequently alluded to mass deportations carried out by Dwight D. Eisenhower in the 1950s under the label 'Operation Wetback,' a racist term used against mostly Mexican immigrants. U.S. citizens of Mexican descent were also expelled from the country during that operation. Trump has said his mass deportations would be larger than Eisenhower's. But there have been more recent arrests and deportations of American citizens: From Oct. 1, 2015, to March 2020, ICE arrested 674 potential U.S. citizens, detained 121 and removed 70, according to a 2021 Government Accountability Office report. The GAO said at the time that ICE had conflicting policies on questioning U.S. citizens and did not track its encounters with U.S. citizens well. The GAO also found that ICE issued detainers — asking a local jurisdiction to hold a suspected undocumented immigrant who had been arrested in another crime — for at least 895 potential U.S. citizens during that period. It eventually canceled about 74% of the detainers. This article was originally published on
NBC News
28-01-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Trump immigration raids snag U.S. citizens, including Native Americans, raising racial profiling fears
American citizens, including citizens of Native tribal nations, have been pulled into the vast immigration operations ordered by President Donald Trump in accordance with his campaign vow to conduct mass deportations since Day 1. Those who are getting caught in Immigrations and Customs Enforcement raids are being targeted because of their race or skin color, according to witnesses. The Navajo Nation Office was flooded with calls from tribal members living off-reservation, with many reporting being questioned about their identity by ICE officers, Native News Online reported. Questioning of Navajo Nation citizens, who are American citizens, by ICE has been problematic enough that Navajo President Buu Nygren took to the airwaves to address it. On tribal radio station KTNN, Nygren said he had received accounts of 'negative and sometimes traumatizing' encounters between ICE and Navajo Nation citizens, Native News Online reported. He advised Navajo Nation residents to carry identification, driver's licenses and their Certificate of Indian Blood. NBC News reached out to ICE regarding the detaining and questioning of Navajo Nation citizens and complaints of racial profiling, and has not yet received a response. One of the employees d etained and questioned by ICE at a seafood wholesaler during an immigration raid in Newark, New Jersey, was a U.S. citizen and military veteran. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka denounced the ICE raid, saying the military veteran "suffered the indignity of having the legitimacy of his military documentation questioned.' Regarding the raid, ICE stated they 'may encounter U.S. citizens while conducting field work and may request identification to establish an individual's identity.' The seafood wholesaler's owner, Luis Janota, told WPIX in New York that his warehouse manager, who was also detained, was Puerto Rican. Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory and its residents are U.S. citizens. 'It looked to me like they were specifically going after certain kinds of people — not every kind. Because they did not ask me for documentation for my American workers, Portuguese workers or white workers,' Janota told the station. More deportations, worries over 'increased profiling' ICE has stepped up arrests and deportations since President Trump took office. While he had said he would prioritize violent criminals, ICE Director Tim Homan also said this week that arrests of undocumented immigrants without criminal convictions — which the administration calls collateral arrests — would occur. On Sunday, almost half of the people arrested, 48%, had nonviolent offenses on their record or were people who had not committed any offense. Being in the U.S. without legal status is a civil violation. Entering the country without inspection, between ports of entry or based on false statements — what is considered illegal entry — is a misdemeanor. Re-entering, or attempting to re-enter, is a felony. The criteria for who is arrested and deported will soon be expanded, however. A bill awaiting Trump's signature, the Laken Riley Act, will allow the arrest and detention of people who are not legally in the country and have been charged — they do not have to be convicted — with burglary, theft, larceny, shoplifting, or crimes that lead to death or serious bodily injury. 'When you don't have enforcement priorities, everyone is subject to detention,' said Rosanna Eugenio, legal director at the New York Immigration Coalition. 'It also creates this situation that leads to increased profiling. How do you tell that someone does not have legal status in this country or is in the process of seeking legal status? You can't tell that by looking at someone. But it will create conditions where there will be profiling of communities, immigrant communities, and communities of color.' The administration is not relying only on ICE officers to make the arrests. The president ordered personnel in several agencies to assist in arresting and detaining immigrants, and some states and cities also are assisting or have said they are willing to assist. Some arrests have been made in cities where officials support the arrests, but the administration also has been targeting cities whose officials have said their local law enforcement would not assist Trump, On Tuesday morning, several law enforcement agencies made arrests in New York City. The arrests were showcased on social media in posts by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and the Drug Enforcement Agency, DEA. The mass deportation efforts may soon run into funding realities. Border czar Tom Homan has said Congress will have to pony up more money to pay for Trump's mass deportation pledge and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has said "we don't have the resources." As Trump's immigration crackdown spread to more cities and towns around the country, immigration advocates were trying to make sure immigrants know what to do if they are caught in the crackdown. 'Our best defense in this moment is people knowing their rights. Stay calm, don't lie. Remain silent. Don't consent to the search,' said Murad Awadeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition. 'Do not open the door without a judicial warrant, as well as making sure that it's signed by a judge.' During the campaign, Trump frequently alluded to mass deportations carried out by Dwight D. Eisenhower in the 1950s under the label 'Operation Wetback,' a racist term used against mostly Mexican immigrants. U.S. citizens of Mexican descent were also expelled from the country during that operation. Trump has said his mass deportations would be larger than those of Eisenhower's. But there have been more recent arrests and deportations of American citizens: From Oct. 1, 2015, to March 2020, ICE arrested 674 potential U.S. citizens, detained 121 and removed 70, according to a 2021 Government Accountability Office report. The GAO said at the time that ICE had conflicting policies on questioning U.S. citizens and did not track its encounters with U.S. citizens well. The GAO also found that ICE issued detainers — asking a local jurisdiction to hold a suspected undocumented immigrant who had been arrested in another crime — for at least 895 potential U.S. citizens during that period. It eventually cancelled about 74% of the detainers.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Wisconsin tribal leaders, aware of concern about Trump orders, mostly avoid confrontation
Tribal leaders across Wisconsin are issuing statements in response to President Trump's flurry of executive orders last week, especially those affecting Indian Country. The most critical reaction, so far, has come from Ho-Chunk Nation President Jon Greendeer. 'I will not bend or bow, play political games, or accept any threat to any of our tribal members or their families in this ridiculous and irresponsible demonstration of petulant leadership,' he said in a statement on the evening of Jan. 23. 'Demonizing human beings for the color of their skin, the people they love, the bodies they so choose to make decisions for, or the economic class to which they struggle to break free from represents something far from the public service embodied in any oath or promise to the people we serve.' 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. One executive order being scrutinized by tribal officials is the ending of 'birthright citizenship,' which has since been blocked by a federal judge for being unconstitutional. In Arizona, state and Navajo tribal officials responded to reports of Navajo tribal members being detained 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 their Certificate of Indian Blood because ICE agents failed to recognize it as valid proof of citizenship, according to a Navajo Nation press release as reported by the Arizona Republic. More: Navajo Nation leaders address reports of ICE detaining tribal citizens Tribal leaders are also concerned about Trump's anti-DEI efforts that rescind Biden's executive orders aimed at strengthening tribal communities. Two programs in particular to be rescinded are, first, the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Native Americans and Strengthening Tribal Colleges and Universities, and second, Advancing Equity, Justice and Opportunity for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. 'I hope not to believe we are the target of the president and the forces behind the MAGA front steering his decision making, but if we are we will hold our ground as we have long before this new fury against humankind came to be,' Greendeer said. 'In the meantime, I will take on a task of assembling impact statements for the variety of programs and services that could be affected in the wake of these executive orders.' Other tribal leaders in Wisconsin made more conciliatory statements in response to Trump's executive orders. Oneida Nation Chairman Tehassi Hill said Oneida officials are aware that many tribal members are concerned by new policies coming from the White House and they will monitor the situation and will use the tribe's leverage when necessary to protect their members and resources. 'As we embark on relations with a new U.S. administration the (Oneida) nation will continue to move forward in a conscientious and deliberate manner and will be mindful to base our actions and decisions on the facts presented to us,' Hill said in a statement on Jan. 24. 'For decades, Oneida Nation has taken a non-partisan approach in elections at every level. … The Nation has worked hard to gain political allies in both Democratic and Republican houses and we will continue to foster those relationships, as we as build new ones.' Menominee Nation Chairwoman Gena Kakkak took a similar tone in her statement about the issue. 'We know there is a lot of confusion, uncertainty and concern within our community regarding some of the decisions and changes happening within the new U.S. administration,' she said in a Jan. 24 statement. 'These moments of change can be unsettling, but I want to reassure you that our tribe has navigated significant change before, and we always emerge strong and united.' 'Our leaders and staff are already working hard to assess any potential impacts. … Our Menominee values, resilience and collective strength will carry us forward as they always have.' Forest County Potawatomi Chairman James Crawford said tribal officials will make decisions rooted in facts, not perceptions and misinformation. "Tribal leadership is closely monitoring the evolving situation and assessing any possible implications for our tribal membership," he said in a statement Jan. 27. "We recognize the importance of understanding the broader political landscape and maintaining constructive relationships across all levels of government." Tribal leaders across the country also criticized Trump for renaming Mt. Denali in Alaska from its Indigenous name to Mt. McKinley after a president who never set foot in Alaska. Republican officials from Alaska also urged Trump not to do so. One act many are celebrating in Indian Country is Trump's statement to support federal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. Federal recognition would have to approved by Congress. In Wisconsin, the Brothertown Indian Nation has been working to achieve federal recognition for decades and tribal officials are hoping that will happen during this administration. More: 50 years after a missed phone call, Brothertown Indian Nation still in pursuit of federal recognition Sign up for the First Nations Wisconsin newsletter Click here to get all of our Indigenous news coverage right in your inbox 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@ or 815-260-2262. Follow him on Twitter at @vaisvilas_frank. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin tribal leaders avoid immediate confrontation with Trump
