As the Trump administration searches for more space to detain immigrants, it is approaching Washington tribes to see if they will participate.
The Nisqually Tribal Council said in a statement Friday evening it learned that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been talking to one of its staff members without consulting the council.
The council said it also discovered ICE has been reaching out to other tribal governments and cities in Washington in an attempt to secure detention space.
For its part, the Nisqually Indian Tribe, whose reservation lies east of Olympia and which has a 288-bed correctional facility built in part with federal funds, is telling ICE no, according to the council.
“The Nisqually people are not in favor of, nor will the tribal council allow, the detention of individuals by ICE on our reservation or in our facilities,” said Tribal Chair E.K. Choke in the statement.
More in the article.
A “request?”
I remember a while back when MAGAs were trying to create some justification for targeting Native Americans. One suggestion was that they have sovereignty on their reservation lands, but the second they leave that reservation, they have illegally entered a foreign sovereign nation, America, and can be detained, and sent to El Salvador, or wherever.
I would bet that the “request” is also accompanied by threats of retaliation if they don’t cooperate. I would expect nothing less from MAGA.