January 28, 2025

Native Americans targeted in ICE raids

 MSNBC -  On Thursday, the 25th Navajo Nation Council addressed reports  — including one from an Arizona state lawmaker — that members of their tribe had been swept up in the raids being conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Arizona state Sen. Theresa Hatathlie, a Democrat, noted that many members of the tribe may lack federally recognized identification documents.

The following day, the office of Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren issued a news release citing “negative, sometimes traumatizing, experiences” among Navajos and advising tribal members to “carry state-issued identification, such as a driver’s license, other picture identification, or their Certificate of Indian blood, known as a CIB.”

This appears to be the kind of dubious profiling that activists feared Trump would unleash as president.

Essentially, that means Navajos are being encouraged to carry their “freedom papers” to avoid harassment from Trump’s immigration officials. This appears to be the kind of dubious profiling that activists feared Trump would unleash as president. And it’s more than a little ironic that a crusade supposedly designed to make America great is harassing people who arguably have more right to be here — legally and morally — than just about anyone else.

No comments: