Reports of Navajo people being detained in immigration sweeps sparks concern from tribal leaders

As U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement intensifies its efforts to apprehend and deport undocumented
immigrants throughout the country, concern is rising among Indigenous
communities residing in urban areas about reports of Indigenous people
being detained in the Valley.

Since President Donald Trump issued
his executive order for an increase in ICE raids, Navajo tribal leaders
have received alarming reports that their tribal members are being
detained, heightening uncertainties over the implications these actions
have for their communities and the safety of their people.

“We now know that Navajo people and
enrolled members of other tribes are being detained in Phoenix and other
cities by ICE,” Navajo Nation Council Speaker Crystalyne Curley said
during a committee meeting on Thursday. “The reports that we have
received indicate that we need to coordinate an operation or some type
of response to help our enrolled tribal members here on the Navajo
Nation.”

On Thursday, Navajo tribal leaders
reported that they have received calls and text messages from Navajo
people living in urban areas who have been stopped, questioned or
detained by ICE. Those reports sparked outrage among Navajo Nation
Council members and prompted a detailed discussion of the topic during a
Naabik’íyáti’ Committee meeting.

“These raids have sparked significant
fear, especially among tribal members in urban areas who face
challenges with documentation,” the Navajo Nation Council said in a press release. A verified number of the Navajo people who have been detained was not shared during the committee meeting. 

State Sen. Theresa Hatathlie joined
the committee meeting virtually and shared her report and concerns in
Navajo. Hatathlie represents the Legislative District 6, which
encompasses the Navajo Nation. 

Hatathlie reported to the Council
that she received a call about a case involving a Navajo citizen who was
detained for nine hours. She did not share the individual’s identity.
Hatahtlie told council members that there is a need for emergency
protocols because many tribal members already struggle with access to
proper documentation, which can get worse under the ICE sweeps.

“Despite possessing Certificates of
Indian Blood (CIBs) and state-issued IDs, several individuals have been
detained or questioned by ICE agents who do not recognize these
documents as valid proof of citizenship,” the Navajo Nation Council
stated in a press release.

Curley called for immediate assistance from Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren.

“Our people are reaching out to us
directly, and their needs are urgent,” Curley said. “We must act swiftly
to ensure their safety and well-being.”

She said that the Navajo people
depend on the tribe for solutions and that Nygren’s response to the
issue has been insufficient. 

“We need clear records and tracking
systems to understand the scope of these issues,” Curley said. “We
cannot wait for another incident. We need emergency protocols now.” 

Nygren told the Arizona Mirror that
his office has heard the concerns coming into his office and circulating
on social media about Indigenous people in urban areas potentially
being detained by ICE. However, he said that his office has not been
able to verify or successfully reach a Navajo person who has been
detained.

“I am glad that not one of our
citizens has been detained for any of this,” he said, adding that his
administration is currently working to gather information for people who
are concerned.

“Being Indigenous, being Navajo,
you’re more American than being American,” Nygren said. “We got to have
that respect from the federal government.”

Nygren said his team has contacted
the governors of Arizona and New Mexico, as well as all state and
federal public safety officials, organizations, ICE and other
departments to inform them that the tribe is paying attention to this
concern. 

“We’re not going to back down when it
comes to our Navajo citizens,” he said. “Our team is focused, and we
want to make sure that the Navajo people stay informed.”

Nygren’s office also shared a guide
on social media, which Navajo people living in urban areas can refer to
if immigration agents confront them. 

The guide shares tips that include:
do not resist, document the encounter, report the encounter, and if
detained or arrested, exercise their right to remain silent and speak to
an attorney. 

Outside of state and federal
entities, Nygren said his office has also contacted tribes who live
along the border because they have more experience dealing with these
situations.

“The advice they gave us is to have
your ID and be respectful,” he said, adding that the tribal leaders
reported that there has been no unusual activity within their
communities. 

“This is one of those situations where I didn’t think a few days ago I’d be talking about,” Nygren said. 

Even though there was an influx of
concerns, Nygren said his office would not issue an executive order
related to the concerns until it verified a case involving a Navajo
person.

If he issued an executive order, Nygren said it would be similar to how the Navajo Nation responded to the sober living crisis that hit Navajo people in Arizona, and the tribe deployed resources to the Phoenix area to help. 

But the president said they did that
because “we had confirmed cases that were very valid. That’s the
difference.” He said there was a lot of evidence of the sober living
crisis and confirmed cases of people being impacted, and he had the
means to deploy resources. 

“Right at this moment, I do not have a
single person that’s detained for me to even consider it,” Nygren said,
adding that his office is preparing and setting a plan in place. 

That approach infuriated Navajo
Nation Council delegates during the Naabik’íyáti’ Committee meeting, and
they criticized the administration’s choice to wait until there are
verified cases.

“If someone was picked up right now,
our message to them is they will have to wait,” Delegate Eugenia
Charles-Newton said during the committee meeting. 

“Our people are afraid to travel,
speak out, or interact with law enforcement due to the threat of
retaliation,” Charles-Newton said. “This fear must be addressed with
systemic solutions.”

Navajo Nation Deputy Attorney General
Kris Beecher said during the committee meeting that tribal leaders
should encourage their constituents to be respectful during interactions
with law enforcement, and that they should carry their state and tribal
IDs at all times.

Tribal leaders with the Naabik’íyáti’
Committee committed to moving emergency legislation to support those
impacted by the raids and ensure swift access to identification for
Navajo citizens.

“It is unacceptable for our people to
be detained because their tribal documents are not recognized,” Curley
said. “This injustice must end.”

The committee also pointed out the
need to enhance the Navajo Nation’s identification system to meet
federal standards, including remote enrollment systems and resources to
issue tribal IDs recognized by federal agencies.

The delegates emphasized the urgency
of emergency legislation to facilitate identification issuance and
resource access for those impacted by the raids. 

“We are committed to protecting the
rights of every Navajo citizen,” Delegate Vince James said. “This
legislation will prioritize the safety of our people and provide a
framework for immediate action.”

The committee also stressed the need
for collaboration with state and federal governments, as well as other
tribal nations, to address the broader implications of these raids.
Plans include a toll-free hotline, community outreach to educate
citizens on their rights and legal support for those affected by ICE
actions.

The Navajo Nation Council said that
Navajo tribal members impacted by ICE raids should contact the Navajo
Nation Human Rights Commission Office at (928) 871-7436.

Community advocate Reva Stewart, who
does direct outreach to Indigenous people who are unhoused within the
Phoenix area, said she has received an influx of concerned calls from
families across Arizona. 

Stewart founded a non-profit
organization called Turtle Island Women Warriors that focuses on helping
Indigenous people displaced by the sober living crisis in the Phoenix
area.

Stewart said that due to the increase
in concern surrounding the ICE raids, her team’s weekly outreach
efforts will start with details about an individual’s rights if they are
ever approached, questioned or detained by an immigration agent. 

“We have to make sure that we’re
telling them,” Stewart said, adding that they want to ensure that tribal
members remember to keep their tribal enrollment information on them if
they don’t have a state-issued ID. 

“This is an added issue we shouldn’t
be having,” she said, noting that many of the unhoused Indigenous people
in the Phoenix area may not have their identification documents, 
leaving them vulnerable to immigration sweeps. 

“It’s scary,” she said. 

‘We’ve been here before’

April Ignacio, co-founder of
Indivisible Tohono, grew up and lives on the Tohono O’odham Nation,
whose tribal lands are on both sides of the Arizona-Mexico border. 

“We still have our traditional
villages in Mexico,” Ignacio said, adding that the U.S. Border Patrol
and Customs has had a presence within their tribal community for
decades.

“We’ve been here before — this isn’t
something new,” she said of the increased immigration actions being
implemented by the Trump administration. “We have tribal members that
still have their rights violated, if not daily, and there is no way to
hold them accountable to that.”

However, Ignacio said she understands
how there are people who go through their entire lives without being
approached by an ICE officer or the Border Patrol, especially among
Indigenous people.

Out of Arizona’s 22 federally
recognized tribes, only four have tribal lands located near the Mexican
border: the Tohono O’odham Nation, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, the Cocopah
Indian Tribe and the Fort Yuma-Quechan Tribe.

“Our relationship with the border is
far more different than other tribes in Arizona who are now putting out
statements about what this administration is pushing forward,” Ignacio
said.

She added that she understands that
tribal nations located far from the Mexico border are experiencing these
immigration policies firsthand for the first time. So, the underlying
fear coming from Indigenous people living in urban areas who have never
experienced this before is justifiable, she said, adding that is why
they need to know their rights because what they see right now is how
elections have consequences. 

“I don’t think any of us Natives are
naive in knowing how state and federal legislation and laws impact our
lives,” Ignacio said. “But what was normalized for us down south is now
being publicly acknowledged and publicized by the media.” 

She said this includes the threats,
harassment, raids, deportations and other forms of violence that have
been used against the Tohono O’odham have always been there, and now
other tribes are experiencing it.

“Being Native in this country is
political,” Ignacio said. And now that these policies are touching more
tribes, she said there will be a lot more pushback — something that will
benefit all tribes. 

Ignacio said the Trump
administration’s new policies are taking aim at tribal communities in
new and shocking ways, which will draw attention to them and spur tribal
responses.

For example, the Trump administration
openly questioned the U.S. citizenship of Indigenous peoples as part of
its defense of Trump’s executive order to suspend birthright citizenship in the U.S.

Trump signed the executive order
shortly after he was sworn into office this week. It would end
birthright citizenship for babies born to a mother and father who are
not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.

A federal judge in Seattle on Thursday temporarily blocked the executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship, calling Trump’s action “blatantly unconstitutional.”

In defending the constitutionality of
the executive order, the U.S. Department of Justice erroneously argued
in court that Indigenous people didn’t have birthright citizenship, so
neither should the children of noncitizen immigrants. 

“The United States’ connection with
the children of illegal aliens and temporary visitors is weaker than its
connection with members of Indian tribes,” DOJ argued in a filing. “If the latter link is insufficient for birthright citizenship, the former certainly is,” the Trump administration argued.”

The DOJ cited an 1884 U.S. Supreme Court case, Elk v. Wilkins,
in which the high court decided that “because members of Indian tribes
owe ‘immediate allegiance’ to their tribes, they are not ‘subject to the
jurisdiction’ of the United States and are not constitutionally
entitled to Citizenship.” 

But the DOJ ignored congressional action, the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, that explicitly gave Indigenous people U.S. birthright citizenship and effectively ended the rejection of citizenship that the Supreme Court had upheld four decades earlier. 

 Before the act, there were two main
ways an Indigenous person could become a citizen: enlistment and land
allotment. As part of the Dawes Act of 1887,
every Indigenous person who received an allotment of land, voluntarily
took up residence there and had “adopted habits of civilized life” —
that is, lived separate and apart from the tribe — was declared to be a
citizen of the United States.

A few tribal nations had citizenship
included in their treaty rights negotiated with the federal government,
while others worked with the state to earn citizenship for their people,
but there was no federal law that included Indigenous people as
citizens.

Thousands of Indigenous people served
in World War I, but when they returned home, they were not considered
citizens in the country they fought for. Not until the United States
passed the Citizenship Act of 1919 were all Indigenous World War I veterans granted citizenship.

It would be five more years before President Calvin Coolidge signed the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, which gave birthright citizenship to “all non-citizen Indians born within the territorial limits of the United States.” 

Ignacio said that the federal court’s
order blocking Trump’s ban on birthright citizenship will give tribes
at least six to eight months to prepare better and understand how it
will impact them. 

“No matter which way you slice or
dice it, the way it is going to touch tribes is in how it affects their
sovereignty,” she added.