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Melissa Olson

In letter to tribes, Noem says ICE doesn’t profile, but communities say otherwise

the “Not On Native Land” rally on Saturday
Ribbons are seen tied to a chain-link fence outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building during the “Pray Honor Defend” action at the Indigenous-led “Not On Native Land” rally on Saturday, Feb. 7, in Minneapolis.
Kerem Yücel | MPR News

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The federal government is telling tribal nations and their members across the country that federal immigration enforcement agents have not racially profiled Native Americans during recent immigration enforcement operations. 

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem sent a letter to tribal officials from more than 500 federally recognized tribes Thursday saying ICE “does not target, and will not target, Native Americans or any U.S. Citizens based on appearance, ethnicity, or community affiliation.” 

Noem went on to say that she was responding to concerns raised by tribal leaders that ICE does not recognize tribal IDs. Noem affirmed tribal IDs as valid forms of ID and went on to encourage “all native people who have a valid state driver's license, passport, state identification card to also use those forms of identification if approached by federal law enforcement.” 

The statement from Noem was posted to social media by Stephen Lewis, President of the Gila River Indian Community, a tribal nation in Arizona. 

A DHS tribal advisor confirmed to MPR News that the statement was emailed to tribal leaders Thursday. 

An untold number of Native Americans in the Twin Cities have been racially profiled and stopped by ICE. Shawntia Sosa-Clara captured video on her cell phone of her nephew Jose Roberto Ramirez dragged from her car and arrested by ICE on January 8. Several weeks later, Ramirez was charged by DHS for impeding ICE agents during the initial stop. 

In her statement to tribal leaders, Noem added that “there have not been any ICE operations on tribal lands.” She went on to say she was “disappointed” when some tribal leaders took actions to ban ICE from reservations.  

In mid-January, Red Lake Nation tribal council passed a resolution that prohibits ICE and other federal immigration agents from entering Red Lake tribal lands, unless the agents have a court order signed by a federal judge.  

This story is part of our live coverage. Go to live updates.