Grand Traverse Band warns members of encounters with ICE agents
From staff reports
With daily reports flashing from major Midwestern cities of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) attacks on immigrants and communities of color, the Grand Traverse Band (GTB) of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians took the unprecedented step today of issuing an advisory to its tribal members to coach them on how to handle encounters with ICE agents.
GTB chair Sandra Witherspoon told the Glen Arbor Sun that, while she has heard rumors of increased ICE activity in northern Michigan, she has no concrete evidence of a stepped-up presence in the coming days. Nevertheless, out of an “abundance of caution,” she said that tribal government decided to issue the advisory.
Witherspoon cited ICE’s detention of Native Americans from the Oglala Sioux Tribe during its attack on Minneapolis in recent days. Last month, dozens of Native Americans from western states reported that they were questioned or detained by ICE. The surge prompted the Native American Rights Fund yesterday to issue “resources for individuals and nonprofits approached by ICE”.
Today’s advisory from the Grand Traverse Band encourages tribal members to carry their GTB Tribal ID card and to calmly identify their citizenship status if confronted by a federal agent.
“If stopped by ICE, (typically a person heavily armed with guns, in camo military fatigues and a baklava face mask obscuring the offices’ facial identity) remain calm and do not physically resist. State clearly: ‘I am a citizen of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, a federally recognized sovereign nation, and I am a United States citizen.'”
The GTB advisory mentioned racial profiling practices now permitted under the Trump regime.
“Recent legal developments and Supreme Court rulings (e.g., Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo) have authorized federal agents, including ICE, to conduct brief investigative detentions commonly referred to as ‘Kavanaugh stops’ based on perceived ethnicity, language, or occupation. Considering these racial profiling practices that have the consequent of including Native Americans as a class subject to ‘Kavanaugh stops,’ all GTB Tribal Members are advised to understand their rights and the legal weight of their Tribal Identification in protecting you from ICE enforcement practices.”
Key legal protections highlighted in the advisory include: the right to remain silent; to request a supervisory officer, and request a judicial warrant if an ICE officer attempts to enter a home or private workplace. The advisory encourages GTB members to carry their tribal ID, record any interactions with ICE agents, and if detained, attempt to notify GTB tribal council, tribal police or the tribe’s legal department immediately.
The advisory offered the following contact information:
• GTB Legal Department General Counsel John F. Petoskey, Cell phone 231-631-8624, Desk phone 231-534-7279
• GTB Police Captain Dave Crocket, Cell phone 231-866-1264, Desk phone 231-534-7182
• GTB Membership Office, Desk phone 231-534-7670
