Tribes expand ID access as ICE encounters raise concerns for citizens and descendants

Native nations are hosting tribal ID pop-ups and reimbursing passport and REAL ID fees as immigration enforcement actions increase, according to Underscore Native News + ICT. The efforts follow reports of Native people being questioned or detained by immigration agents. In Minneapolis, Jose Ramirez, a Red Lake Nation descendant and U.S. citizen, was detained in January and later charged with assaulting an ICE agent during the encounter.

Legal experts say the issue has raised broader questions about tribal citizenship criteria, including blood quantum. Matthew Fletcher, a professor of federal Indian law at the University of Michigan, said immigration agents have relied on racial profiling following the 2025 Supreme Court decision in Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo. Gabe Galanda, founder of Galanda Broadman, advised descendants to carry state identification, passports and any federal Certificate of Degree of Indian or Alaska Native Blood cards. Some nations, including the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, White Earth Nation and Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, are providing descendancy letters at ID events.