WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the former chair and longest serving member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, joined 11 of her Senate colleagues in a new letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem demanding answers regarding the outrageous mistreatment of Tribal citizens by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a number of recent incidents, including in Washington state. In their letter, the lawmakers called out reports of ICE improperly stopping or detaining Tribal citizens for no apparent reason aside from their physical appearance, and urged Secretary Noem 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.
Joining Senator Cantwell in sending the letter were U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
“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,” the senators wrote. “In February, several Senators wrote to you following reports of ICE agents improperly stopping or detaining Tribal citizens. In June, you replied with a letter in which you failed to respond to the majority of the questions raised in the letter. Over the past month, we have heard additional 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. Miles alleges that her son and uncle were also both detained by ICE agents who initially did not accept their Tribal IDs before eventually releasing them. In response, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin—a frequent liar—said in an emailed statement that allegations that DHS law enforcement officers engage in racial profiling “categorically FALSE.”
The senators referenced this incident in their letter, noting that ICE had previously told Members of Congress that “The ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Academy does not train ERO officers to require any specific document to prove U.S. citizenship.” “The experience of these Tribal citizens in Washington suggests that this is false: ICE agents are demanding certain documents to prove citizenship and are unaware of different forms of Tribal ID,” the Members wrote.
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. Harassment of Navajo Nation citizens by ICE has been so widespread that Navajo President Buu Nygren took to the airwaves to advise his members to carry identification, driver’s licenses and their Certificate of Indian Blood on their person at all times.
“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 Members also demanded answers by January 11th to a number of 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 is available HERE and below.
Dear Secretary Noem:
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. In February, several Senators wrote to you following reports of ICE agents improperly stopping or detaining Tribal citizens. In June, you replied with a letter in which you failed to respond to the majority of the questions raised in the letter. Over the past month, we have heard additional 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 one recent incident, several Tribal citizens were stopped by ICE agents at a bus stop in Redmond, Washington. These agents reportedly questioned the validity of their Tribal ID, with agents allegedly telling one Tribal citizen that her Tribal ID was “fake” and that “anyone can make that.” ICE agents also reportedly refused an offer to contact her Tribal government to verify these individuals’ enrollment and identification documents.
In our February letter, you were asked to supply information about the training offered to ICE agents about different forms of valid identification and documentation of United States citizenship for enrolled members of federally recognized Tribes. In response, you wrote, “The ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Academy does not train ERO officers to require any specific document to prove U.S. citizenship.” The experience of these Tribal citizens in Washington suggests that this is false: ICE agents are demanding certain documents to prove citizenship and are unaware of different forms of Tribal ID.
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. Additionally, we request that you answer the following questions:
- What steps, if any, has your Department taken to develop new or change existing policies regarding its interactions with Tribal citizens and governments this year?
- Please provide a detailed description of how agents are trained to respond when presented with a Tribally-issued identification card or document.
- Does the Department require additional resources to develop training and policies for ICE agents to recognize identification documents issued by Tribal governments?
- Please provide a detailed description of how the Department is working with its Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties to review and investigate any allegations of civil rights and civil liberties violations as it pertains to ICE’s treatment of United States-born citizens of federally recognized Tribes.
- In both your June letter and in the Department’s public response to the Redmond incident, your Department has denied that it racially profiles Tribal members. How do explain the pattern of ICE agents stopping and detaining Tribal citizens under the current Administration?
We appreciate your attention to this request and ask that you respond to these questions no later than January 11, 2026.