Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and ten of her Senate Democratic colleagues joined a letter led by Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) demanding U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem provide answers regarding the outrageous mistreatment of Tribal citizens by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a number of recent incidents.
In their letter, the Senators called out reports of ICE improperly stopping or detaining Tribal citizens for no apparent reason beyond racial profiling and urged Secretary Noem to develop policy and trainings to ensure that all ICE agents are trained to recognized Tribal IDs.
“We write to share our alarm over the completely unacceptable treatment of U.S.-born citizens of federally recognized Tribes, who have been stopped and questioned by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on suspicion of being undocumented,” wrote the Senators. “[… We have heard] alarming reports of ICE improperly stopping or detaining Tribal citizens for no apparent reason aside from their physical appearance. The disrespect and harassment of U.S.-born Tribal citizens by ICE is outrageous and inexcusable, and we request that you take immediate steps to put an end to it.”
In November, Elaine Miles, an Indigenous actor, was approached by four men who identified themselves as ICE agents while waiting for a bus in Redmond, Washington. When she handed them her Tribal ID issued by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon, the immigration agents reportedly claimed that her ID was “fake” and that “anyone can make that.” When she attempted to call the Umatilla Tribal enrollment office phone number to verify her ID to the officers, an officer tried unsuccessfully to pry her phone out of her hands, then departed with his counterparts in unmarked vehicles.
In another recent incident, a member of Arizona’s Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Leticia Jacobo, was nearly deported after an Iowa jail mistakenly issued an ICE detainer for another inmate. Despite the fact that Jacobo was in possession of her Tribal ID and had her Social Security number on file with the jail, her family had to scramble to prove her identity and Tribal citizenship to the jail staff, who released her just hours before she would have been transferred into federal custody. At least 15 Indigenous people in Arizona and New Mexico reported being questioned or detained by ICE agents in January of 2025.
“You have an obligation to uphold the federal government’s trust and treaty obligations to Tribes and to treat Tribal citizens with respect—this is not optional. In light of recent incidents, we urge you to develop policy and trainings to ensure that all ICE agents are trained to recognize Tribal IDs, regardless of whether they are working on Tribal lands,” the Senators concluded.
The Senators also demanded answers by January 11th to questions about DHS policies regarding interactions with Tribal citizens and Tribal ID and how the Department is working with its Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties to review and investigate allegations of civil rights violations.
The full text of the letter can be found here.
Senator Cortez Masto is a fierce advocate for Nevada’s Tribal communities. She is leading three bipartisan bills to address the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIP). In addition to fighting to improve public safety in Indian Country, Cortez Masto has pushed to better health care, maintain voting rights, and deliver tax parity for Tribes.
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