The Navajo Nation is on edge after some 15 people were reportedly detained or questioned by federal agents at their homes or workplaces as part of President Donald Trump’s much-hyped immigration crackdown.
Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said his office had received multiple reports from Navajo citizens of “negative, and sometimes traumatizing, experiences with federal agents targeting undocumented immigrants in the Southwest.”
“Recent reports of negative interactions with federal immigration agents have raised concerns that have prompted fear and anxiety among our community members,” he said in a news release.
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Nygren said trained counselors were brought in to assist those “suffering the emotional and mental impacts of negative encounters” with federal officials.
In an interview on CNN, Navajo Nation Council Speaker Crystalyne Curley said they received reports that Indigenous people living in Phoenix, Albuquerque, Los Angeles, Florida, and Chicago were visited at their homes or workplaces by agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or other law enforcement officials.
“A lot of the families that we’ve talked to, we feel that many of these cases that are coming through, the allegations that are coming through, they feel that they have been racially discriminated and also profiled,” Curley said.
CNN noted, however, it was unclear whether ICE or another law enforcement agency was responsible for the recent raids. ICE did not return comment when questioned by CNN.
Those who were contacted in their workplaces were taken to a room and asked to present documentation, she added.
Nygren advised Navajo citizens to carry state-issued IDs, such as a driver’s license and other picture identification, as well as their Certificate of Indian Blood (CIB).
Native Americans are citizens of the U.S. The problem, however, is that it remains unclear whether ICE agents and law enforcement officials view the CIB as acceptable documentation of citizenship.
Senator Theresa Hatathlie said many tribal members who possessed both state-issued IDs and CIBs were still detained or questioned by ICE officials.
“There’s a lot of frustration happening here on the Navajo Nation on how to address this,” Curley said. “Many fear for the threat of being deported.”
Nygren told Navajo citizens to contact Operation Rainbow Bridge, an immigration crisis initiative, if they run into issues with federal immigration officials.
The Daily Beast reached out to a spokesperson for Navajo Nation but did not receive a response.
Trump’s long-promised deportation efforts began with the arrests of hundreds on Sunday. The Washington Post reported that ICE wants to ramp up apprehensions to as much as 1,200 to 1,500 per day.
