Wisconsin Tribes Worried About ICE Tactics in Minnesota
Ho-Chunk president says federal agents have stopped, detained Native Americans.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Wisconsin tribal authorities are speaking out after several Native American citizens have been stopped or detained by federal agents during the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown in Minnesota.
Jon Greendeer, president of the Ho-Chunk Nation, told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” that he’s been fielding calls from tribal members who are worried about what’s unfolding in Minneapolis, which is about 150 miles from Ho-Chunk tribal headquarters in Black River Falls.
Many Wisconsin tribes are monitoring the situation closely and issuing guidance to members to carry their tribal ID card and other documentation with them while immigration enforcement continues to ramp up. Most Native people have “triple citizenship,” Greendeer said: U.S. citizenship, state residency and tribal membership.
“We don’t have to justify who we are to any further extent than what our legal IDs would provide,” he said.
His advice for tribal members who encounter immigration or border enforcement is to “know your rights and be calm, but be affirming.”
Many tribes are encouraging members to carry identification. The Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe, headquartered in Hayward in northwest Wisconsin, traveled to Minneapolis to issue ID cards for enrolled members who live in the Twin Cities.
The Ho-Chunk Nation and other tribal governments in Wisconsin have been encouraging members to obtain and carry a tribal ID card. Image courtesy of Ho-Chunk Nation
Last year, ICE arrested nearly 1,000 people in Wisconsin, and several local law enforcement departments throughout the state have entered into controversial 287(g) agreements, which authorize local officers to carry out immigration enforcement operations.
“The only outreach I’ve seen the Department of Homeland Security do is to basically put a carrot on a stick, provide a lot of money, a lot of funding for tribal communities to expand their detention facilities to harbor people who are undocumented,” he added.
Greendeer’s biggest priority is for the people he leads to be safe. For him, that means not cooperating with ICE.
“I know exactly what their agenda is,” Greendeer said. “They are not welcome in Ho-Chunk country at all.”
Wisconsin tribes respond to ICE presence in Minnesota was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
If you think stories like this are important, become a member of Urban Milwaukee and help support real, independent journalism. Plus you get some cool added benefits.
