Indigenous people, Navajos detained by federal agents

There are reports that Indigenous people have been detained or stopped as part of the Trump Administration’s crackdown on undocumented workers. Debra Krol, a reporter for “The Arizona Republic,” joined us to discuss.

At least 15 Indigenous people in Arizona and New Mexico have reported being stopped at their homes and workplaces, questioned or detained by federal law enforcement or asked to produce proof of citizenship during immigration raids since Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, according to Navajo Nation officials.

The reports, which Krol said have caused panic amongst tribal communities in both states, come amid the Trump administration’s attempt to ramp up undocumented immigrant arrests nationwide and amass a larger force to carry out the President’s deportation pledge.

The reported raids and the exact number of Diné/ Navajo and other Indigenous tribal citizens who were apprehended are still under investigation, according to Krol.

In response, Dr. Buu Van Nygren, the President of Navajo Nation, said they have contacted the Department of Homeland Security, Governor Katie Hobbs, New Mexico’s Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to address the reports.

“My office has received multiple reports from Navajo citizens that they have had negative, and sometimes traumatizing, experiences with federal agents targeting undocumented immigrants in the Southwest,” Dr. Nygren said.

It is unclear if ICE or other law enforcement entities were conducting the apprehensions, Krol said.

Arizona State Senator Theresa Hatathlie described an incident involving a woman and seven other Indigenous citizens who were stopped at their work place in Scottsdale, Arizona, lined up behind a car and were questioned for two hours without cell phones or a way to contact their families.

The woman was later allowed to use her cell phone to text family members, who sent her a photo of her Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood (CDIB), and she was then allowed to leave, Senator Hatathlie said. 

It is said that the Navajo Nation Council received reports on social media and calls to council delegates from the families who said they were visited by ICE at their apartments and work places.