{"id":23740,"date":"2025-02-01T21:27:24","date_gmt":"2025-02-02T04:27:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/navajo-nation-receives-help-from-roundhouse-congress-on-ice-raids\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T22:41:55","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:41:55","slug":"navajo-nation-receives-help-from-roundhouse-congress-on-ice-raids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/navajo-nation-receives-help-from-roundhouse-congress-on-ice-raids\/","title":{"rendered":"Navajo Nation receives help from Roundhouse, Congress on ICE raids"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=e22605db-093e-5555-841f-72a920266121&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" alt=\"President of the Navajo Nation Buu Nygren speaks about the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act during a news conference Sept. 24 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Jose Luis Magana\/Associated Press file)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">President of the Navajo Nation Buu Nygren speaks about the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act during a news conference Sept. 24 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Jose Luis Magana\/Associated Press file)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>Native Americans in New Mexico are receiving bipartisan help through the establishment of tip lines after reports of them being targeted by immigration.<\/p>\n<p>Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said on social media that Navajos are fearful and suffering from \u201csignificant anxiety\u201d caused by ICE raids in Albuquerque, Phoenix and border areas throughout the reservation.<\/p>\n<p>His office set up <a href=\"https:\/\/operationrainbowbridge.com\/navajo-immigration-ice\/\" id=\"link-56fcc71c34e609715dbb9811d660c19e\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Operation Rainbow Bridge,<\/a> which is a program to educated Native Americans should they be approached by an ICE agent. It also has a tip line to field calls on the issue.<\/p>\n<p>According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/operationrainbowbridge.com\/navajo-immigration-ice\/\" id=\"link-9ab0b988e33e092ac97efb21e4536ea0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Operation Rainbow Bridge website <\/a>the tribe investigated claims of Navajo citizens being questioned in immigration sweeps.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot one report was confirmed or substantiated,\u201d the website states.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=0257ad51-b4d1-55d5-a1e6-71daa925425d&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"1020\" height=\"681\" alt=\"Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque in 2022. He recently said Navajos are fearful and suffering from \u201csignificant anxiety\u201d caused by ICE raids in border cities. (Gino Gutierrez\/For Source NM)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque in 2022. He recently said Navajos are fearful and suffering from \u201csignificant anxiety\u201d caused by ICE raids in border cities. (Gino Gutierrez\/For Source NM)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>However, the New Mexico Congressional Delegation in a letter dated Jan. 28 to President Donald Trump shared the particulars of a confirmed incident in which \u201can ICE agent stopped a New Mexico tribal government citizen at a convenience store and questioned the individual\u2019s citizenship status.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The letter further states that \u201cthe individual showed the ICE agent a picture of their tribal identification and New Mexico driver\u2019s license.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The letter refers to ICE questioning Native Americans as \u201cracial profiling,\u201d and it requests Trump direct ICE agents to accept tribal identification as proof of citizenship.<\/p>\n<p>Nygren addressed the importance of Navajos carrying their state-issued identification cards and picture identification.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHaving your state ID is crucial, and if you possess a CIB, it can provide an additional layer of reassurance,\u201d Nygren said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"naviga-pdf-embed\"><iframe class=\"article-pdf\" src=\"https:\/\/dur-prod-public-pdfs.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/C2oM89RPfBh_SG4PGQftwQZq-Ro.pdf\" style=\"width:100%;height:500px;border:1px solid #ddd\" loading=\"lazy\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dur-prod-public-pdfs.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/C2oM89RPfBh_SG4PGQftwQZq-Ro.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">indian-citizenship-act-1924.pdf (Download PDF)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><\/p><\/iframe>\n<p class=\"naviga-pdf-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dur-prod-public-pdfs.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/C2oM89RPfBh_SG4PGQftwQZq-Ro.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">indian-citizenship-act-1924.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 was enacted by the U.S. Congress on June 2, 1924, and it declared that \u201call noncitizen Indians born within the territorial limits of the United States be, and they are hereby, declared to be citizens of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nygren said he has worked with other tribal leaders and sought the help of \u201cthe U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, state and federal Senate and House representatives, and the office of the governors for Arizona and New Mexico.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Senate Republicans in the New Mexico Legislature answered Nygren\u2019s concerns by establishing an email tip line on Jan. 31, and stating in a news release that they are \u201calarmed by concerns being raised by our Native American citizens that they either have been or could be wrongfully targeted by these efforts (ICE raids).\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe understand that these federal operations may have caused fear among some New Mexico populations, particularly Native Americans,\u201d said Sen. Bill Sharer, R-Farmington. \u201cBut we remain committed to protecting the rights and safety of all New Mexicans, and we invite concerned individuals to notify us via our new email tip line about incidents in which citizens or legal residents are subjected to undue scrutiny by immigration officials.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The New Mexico Delegation demanded ICE \u201cstop harassing Native Americans and violating Tribal sovereignty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The delegation added that \u201cNative communities are quintessentially American communities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The delegation spoke out against the spreading of \u201cfear in communities that have existed since time immemorial. It is unconscionable to question their citizenship and cause them to live in fear,\u201d the letter stated.<\/p>\n<p>Sharer stated that New Mexico Republicans support President Donald Trump\u2019s efforts to remove \u201cviolent criminals who are here illegally,\u201d but they also want to \u201chelp protect law-abiding New Mexicans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nygren is asking \u201cindividuals to remain calm and assured that our collaborative efforts with local, state, and federal law enforcement are ongoing to ensure community safety.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Reports can be made to the Operation Rainbow Bridge tip line by calling, (855) 435-7672 or emailing: <a href=\"mailto:info@operationrainbowbridge.com\">info@operationrainbowbridge.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Reports can be sent to New Mexico Republican leadership through email at <a href=\"mailto:senate.minority@nmlegis.gov\">senate.minority@nmlegis.gov<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>lines, email set up to receive reports or raids and harassment <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23741,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-23740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23740"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23740\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78240,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23740\/revisions\/78240"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23740"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=23740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}