Navajo woman reportedly questioned by ICE in Scottsdale leads to lawmaker’s concerns

PHOENIX — An Arizona lawmaker fears Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is racially profiling tribal members after she was made aware of a Navajo woman who was detained at her workplace in Scottsdale.

Arizona state Sen. Theresa Hatathlie received a phone call from a constituent on the Navajo Nation who shared the story about her niece. Hatathlie said she contacted the woman to get more information, but said the woman did not want to be identified or report the incident to due fear of retaliation.

The Navajo woman’s workplace was raided by ICE in Scottsdale on Jan. 22. At least 14 people were lined up in front of vans to be questioned, eight of whom the woman believed were Native American, including herself.

The woman said she was able to text her aunt before her phone was taken away.

“And so, she kept saying, ‘I’m Navajo, I’m Navajo, I’m from the Navajo Nation,”’ Hatathlie said.

The woman didn’t have any tribal documentation on her. The aunt informed the woman’s mother what was happening, and the mother sent her daughter a picture of her Certificate of Indian Blood.

The Navajo woman was given her phone back and showed ICE agents the picture from her mom and was eventually released. The woman was emotional after the incident and had a panic attack.

Hatathlie has heard similar stories happening on the Navajo Nation and in northern Arizona near Flagstaff. She recommended Navajo tribal members carry a copy of their Certificate of Indian Blood with them and keep a digital copy on their phone.

“Because in a state of panic, I think a majority of people grab their phones,” Hatathlie said.

ICE, in a statement to KTAR News 92.3 FM, said it works with federal and tribal partners on enforcement actions.

“Should the extremely rare occasion arise where U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement might need to work with tribal partners on an immigration-related case, ICE will attempt to consult and deconflict with the FBI, Department of Justice Board of Immigration Appeals and tribal leaders as a plan is developed and prior to any targeted law enforcement actions,” the agency said.

Navajo woman incident not an anomaly, senator says

The senator questioned why she doesn’t hear similar stories about Jewish, Swedish or Russian people being detained by ICE and questioned about their citizenship.

“And if you look at all of the pictures or the stories, they all involve people who have brown skin,” Hatathlie said. She has not seen evidence of other ethnicities being harassed.

Racial profiling is nothing new to Native Americans. Hatathlie said a higher rate of Indigenous people are stopped by police where she is from in northern Arizona because their skin is brown.

A Navajo man was detained and deported to Mexico a few years ago because he didn’t have identification that meant their scrutiny, according to Hatathlie. She said it took him about two years to get back into the country.

She said tribal nations need to communicate to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security about what their tribal census number looks like because it differs between tribes.

Navajo members can get their enrollment ID card to carry with them in case they are stopped by ICE.

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