Tribes have advised members to carry both state and tribal identification amid reports of detentions by immigration agents.
Native Americans are voicing their concerns over the actions of U.S. immigration officials, after reports of citizens being questioned and detained despite their indigenous status. Tribal leaders across several states are condemning the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during ongoing raids, and have been urging their members to carry identification at all times in case they are stopped.
“You're not allowed to come terrorize our tribal members on our homeland,“ Chase Iron Eyes, an Oglala Sioux member, told reporters during a demonstration in Minneapolis. In a statement released last week by the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians, a federally recognized tribe in Michigan, the group said ICE had relied on “intimidation and racial profiling,“ and said its actions had “created fear, confusion, and anxiety within Indigenous communities and among minority communities more broadly.“ When approached for comment, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek that allegations of racial profiling were “disgusting, reckless and categorically FALSE,“ and said these had contributed to a significant increase in assaults against immigration officials. “A person’s immigration status makes them a target for enforcement, not their skin color, race or ethnicity,“ she said. “Law enforcement uses ‘reasonable suspicion’ to make arrests, as allowed under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.“ Why It Matters The killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis has sparked widespread scrutiny of ICE’s actions, its agents’ qualifications and training, and President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown more broadly. Agents have shot 11 people since September, according to NBC News, and dozens more have died in ICE custody over the course of 2025, according to one civil rights lawyer who spoke with Newsweek in December. What To Know The opposition from Native Americans has grown in response to reports of several tribal members being detained without justification during ongoing raids in Minneapolis. Last week, Oglala Sioux Tribe President Frank Star Comes Out said several tribal members were being held in ICE custody. However, Star walked back this statement on Thursday, as well as his assertions that that DHS had been uncooperative and demanded an “immigration agreement“ from the tribe in exchange for information on their whereabouts. Star said the tribe was still trying to verify that the individuals had in fact been detained. “ICE did NOT ask the tribe for any kind of agreement, we have simply asked for basic information on the individuals, such as names and date of birth so that we can run a proper check to provide them with the facts,“ said McLaughlin, as quoted by CBS News. US Border Patrol agents stand guard at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 8, 2026. But several Native Americans have been stopped and questioned by agents in Minnesota, according to the Washington Post, which spoke with the mother of a 20-year-old citizen she said was held in ICE custody for 10 hours. Widespread reports and first-hand accounts of similar incidents have prompted tribes in Michigan, Minnesota and elsewhere to issue guidance for their members on how to approach encounters with immigration officials. A fact sheet released by the Native American Rights Fund, a nonprofit which provides legal assistance to indigenous peoples in the U.S., has urged individuals not to interfere with any operations, but to record encounters if possible and to carry either state-issued ID cards or Tribal ID to prove their citizenship. What People Are Saying Ryan Mills, the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians’ general counsel, said in comments quoted by Bridge Michigan: “Irony maybe is the word, because not only are Native Americans citizens of the state they live in and the tribe they are part of, ultimately … they were here before the government of the United States was created.“ Oglala Sioux Tribe President Frank Star, in a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, wrote: “Members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe are United States citizens. We are the first Americans. We are not undocumented immigrants, and we are not subject to unlawful immigration enforcement actions by ICE or Homeland Security.“ What Happens Next Amid demonstrations over the fatal shooting of Renee Good, the administration has surged immigration agents into Minneapolis, and the president has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act and call up the U.S. military to quell anti-ICE protests. Update 1/17/26, 9:20 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Homeland Security.
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