The Navajo Nation published a press release last month in which Dr. Buu Nygren, president of the Navajo Nation, addressed "negative, and sometimes traumatizing, experiences with federal agents targeting undocumented immigrants in the Southwest."
Nygren was not alone in this action. The Mescalero Apache Tribe and other tribes across the country have made efforts in recent weeks to address issues raised regarding Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the wake of new policies from the Trump administration.
"There are individual instances of Native people being questioned in Flagstaff," said Jacob Moore, vice president and special advisor to the president on American Indian affairs at ASU. "The Mescalero tribe in New Mexico sent out a notice to tribal members of an incident where a tribal member was interrogated while their family was there."
The Indian Citizen Act of 1924 confirmed the citizenship of Native Americans born in the U.S., a right not previously guaranteed across the country, even with the passage of the 14th Amendment in 1868.
Despite this, issues and interactions have still emerged with Native Americans and ICE officials, often prompted by assumptions based on race, according to Moore.
"There is profiling going on," Moore said. "Doesn't matter if you're a student or you're a staff member or a faculty member. It's clearly students who are our greatest concern, but, obviously, anybody within the University, we want to make sure that they're safe."
Fears have spread to Native students within the University, especially following a College Republicans United tabling event on Jan. 31, which encouraged students to report their classmates to ICE.
READ MORE: Hundreds protest CRU at ASU event, in solidarity with immigrants and DACA students
"I carry mine (tribal ID) around now, just as a safety precaution," said Lisa Williams, a senior studying neuroscience who attended a rally hosted by Aliento at ASU condemning CRU at ASU. "It's very scary that we actually have to start doing that, and we have to actually start proving our identity."
Avel Suchite, a sophomore studying neuroscience who was also at the rally, said his own identification precautions are similar to Williams. Suchite has been and continues to advocate for an increase in services to support Native American students.
"We do need more support on campus," Suchite said. "If ICE comes in, profiling a group of Native Americans, there's no call line."
Concern among Native American people at the University doesn't end with students.
"Even staff and faculty are concerned, as we all should be to a certain degree, given that we're minorities, because this seems to be more of a targeted effort on minorities in general," Moore said.
However, Moore said, the University does have policies in place, some of which revolve around cooperation with tribal nations themselves.
"Part of our effort was to rely on those tribal governments to refer those students to their own tribes in terms of following what's good advice and good guidance," Moore said.
Beyond this, the University also has programs in place that can be used by Native American students in case issues arise.
"Student affairs is the place to go to," Moore said. "We have student affairs representatives at each of the campuses, and they are there to protect the safety and the well-being of our students."
Moore also said that for Native American students who may be experiencing trauma related to interactions with ICE officials, ASU provides access to counseling services as a method of support.
Students have also found peer organizations within the University, like in Alpha Pi Omega, an Indigenous sorority on campus, that provide an extra level of comfort.
"Being a part of that sorority (Alpha Pi Omega) has really opened a bunch of different opportunities," Williams said. "They helped me connect with other Indigenous women who are strong and very independent and are just very open-minded."
As well as groups organized by students for students, a broader community of advocacy nonprofits exists for those who need support.
"The counter-protest felt for me like it was based on love, and this idea that we're all diverse," said Moore. "Whether we're white or Black or Hispanic or Native … you can't separate diversity from America."
Edited by George Headley, Sophia Braccio, Tiya Talwar and Natalia Jarrett.
Reach the reporter at sluba@asu.edu and follow @samluba6 on X.
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Sam is a freshman studying political science with a minor in justice studies. This is his second semester with The State Press. He has also worked as editor-in-chief of his high school newspaper.
