The whereabouts of four members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe are still unknown five days after they were reportedly detained by ICE agents in Minneapolis, according to tribal and state leaders.
The four men who were detained Jan. 8 were living under a bridge by Little Earth of United Tribes, a Housing and Urban Development-subsidized housing complex in Minneapolis near the intersection of 24th Street and Cedar Avenue South, according to a statement from Oglala Sioux Tribe President Frank Star Comes Out. A bystander — also a tribe member — was able to get the information that the men are members of the Oglala Sioux, but did not get their names, Star Comes Out said.
The news came just a day after the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer, amid a surge in federal immigration activity in the Twin Cities area that state and city leaders are trying to end with a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan’s office did not have any updates on the Oglala Sioux men detained by ICE as of 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. Requests for updates from the Department of Homeland Security, Oglala Sioux Tribe leaders, and other state officials were not answered by Tuesday morning.
“Native people have been here since time immemorial — there’s no one that has been a citizen of this country longer than us. The obvious racial profiling happening to our community is disgraceful. My heart breaks to hear about what’s happening and it pisses me off,” said Flanagan, a member of White Earth Nation.
Red Lake Nation descendant Jose Roberto “Beto” Ramirez also was detained by ICE on Thursday, but he was released the same day, according to a report from ICT News. Red Lake Nation did not have any further updates on Ramirez as of Monday.
The Minnesota Native American Caucus — Sen. Mary Kunesh, DFL-New Brighton; Rep. Heather Keeler, DFL-Moorhead; and Rep. Liish Kozlowski, DFL-Duluth — condemned the federal agents’ actions against the Native American population in a statement released Sunday.
“Native peoples are Indigenous to this country, existing on this continent for thousands of years before the colonization of this nation — rendering deportation impossible and absurd. Snatching a Native person off the street is not a reckless mistake — it’s a direct assault on Indigenous sovereignty and due process. Native Americans are citizens by law, history, and treaty,” the statement read.
Since 1924, federal law has guaranteed Native American citizenship to Native Americans born in the U.S., and ICE cannot detain or deport them for immigration violations, according to the Native American Rights Fund.
“The detention of Native peoples in Minnesota follows a disturbing nationwide pattern by ICE agents: targeting immigrants and civilians, seizing American Indian persons off the street, ignoring their clear identification as Tribal members, and detaining them by ruthless force,” the Minnesota Native American Causus said, calling on Tribes to establish rapid response policies and protocols regarding ICE activity.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that affected Somalis must leave the U.S. by March 17.
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