Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren pictured at the Santa Fe Roundhouse in 2023. (Photo by Sharon Chischilly for Source NM)
The widespread fear of unannounced immigration raids by federal law enforcement in the several days since President Donald Trump took office has prompted a local tribal leader to issue warnings and advice to tribal citizens.
Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren issued a statement on social media on Wednesday evening directed toward Navajo people living in urban areas. He cited “unconfirmed reports” that Navajo Nation citizens were being questioned and detained by immigration officials.
“Please be safe, aware of your surroundings, and carry valid forms of identification with you including your Certificate of Indian Birth,” he wrote.
The announcement went on to tell Navajo citizens outside of the reservation to record interactions with immigration agents, if possible, and report the encounter to the local branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, among other tips.
His advice comes as other local leaders have tried to give guidance about what to do, what to say and how to fight back against the specter of mass deportations across the state. The New Mexico Attorney General issued guidance earlier this week to officials and employees at sensitive areas like churches, hospitals and schools, along with law enforcement.
On Jan. 17, three days before Trump was inaugurated, the Archdiocese of Santa Fe issued a series of public service announcements, including telling parish leaders that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials can only enter non-public areas with a lawful, signed judicial warrant. Administrative warrants issued by ICE officials are not enough, according to the guidance.
Nygren said his office was looking into the matter and would release more information when possible. A spokesperson did not respond to a request from Source New Mexico on Thursday evening about one such rumor. A Navajo Nation Council Delegate also told Source New Mexico in a text he’d heard rumors but hadn’t received “anything definite.”
Citizens of the Navajo Nation are members of a sovereign tribe that existed in the area now called the United States since time immemorial, and would not be subject to any of the executive orders Trump issued related to immigration, including an effort to revoke birthright citizenship protections for those born here to parents from other countries.