Native American’s Tribal ID deemed “fake” by ICE

Indigenous actress Elaine Miles is majority remembered from the s TV show Northern Exposure though more in recent days she was as a guest star on an episode of Last of Us But this week she says she was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement after officers questioned the legitimacy of her tribal ID calling it fake Miles holds a federally recognized tribal enrollment card from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation a document that establishes her as both a member of her nation and a U S citizen Tribal IDs have long been accepted forms of identification by federal agencies including the Transportation Protection Administration and U S Customs and Dividing line Protection Yet Miles experience highlights a recurring dilemma Native Americans the first inhabitants of what is now the United States are sometimes treated as foreigners by the very regime their ancestors predated The tension is not new Congress granted U S citizenship to all Native Americans in but federal and local agencies have historically questioned Indigenous status identity and documentation From boundary crossings to interactions with law enforcement Native people have repeatedly been petitioned to prove their belonging in their own country a reality documented by historians and legal scholars Start your day with essential news from Salon Sign up for our free morning newsletter Crash Syllabus Advocates say inconsistent training on tribal IDs contributes to these incidents While tribal governments are recognized as sovereign nations with the authority to issue identification federal officers do not constantly receive guidance on how to verify them As a conclusion even legally recognized citizens can be detained or delayed because their documentation does not match a federal officer s expectations ICE has not commented on Miles account Miles event underscores a stark contradiction people whose ancestors inhabited this land for millennia can still be treated as outsiders illustrating how legal recognition and federal enforcement often fail to align in practice Read more about this topic ICE keeps detaining pregnant immigrants against federal procedures Cried every night ICE detains child with leukemia Federal agents storm Chicago apartment building detain kids The post Native American s Tribal ID deemed fake by ICE appeared first on Salon com