CROW AGENCY — A Crow Tribe elected official has issued guidance to tribal members as federal law enforcement conducts a nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration ordered by President Donald Trump.
Crow Sen. Dean Don't Mix from Lodge Grass who serves as the tribal Speaker of the House issued a statement Monday advising tribal members to carry tribal and/or state-issued identification at all times.
"None of our Crow tribal members should live in fear of being arrested or deported by federal immigration agents," Don't Mix said in the statement. "Social media may be abuzz with scary stories right now, but our longstanding rights to our homeland, and our citizenship, have been consistently recognized and upheld by the United States since it entered into its first Treaty with our tribe, in 1825."
Along with carrying identification, Don't Mix recommends tribal members also "not escalate the situation" if they are stopped and questioned about their citizenship.
"View everything you read on social media with a critical eye, determine whether the source of the stories being posted is legitimate, and do your best to spread factual information and positive messages, rather than misinformation and rumors," he said in the statement.
A similar statement was released recently by an elected tribal official on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation following reports that federal ICE agents had detained members of the Navajo Nation.
