Rising tensions prompt warnings

For many in Kahnawake, a trip across the border is a regular occurrence – but community members are being advised to exercise more caution than usual in light of growing tensions following the actions of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, including a situation where a First Nations man is said to have been detained and his Certificate of Indian Status seized.

“ICE is doing whatever the heck they want. It’s quite clear that their actions seem to be over and above the law, or immune to accountability,” said Abram Benedict, who is co-chair of the Jay Treaty Border Alliance (JTBA), which advocates for the rights of Indigenous people to freely cross the Canada-US border. “That’s really concerning. The last thing we want is for any of our members to be processed in an ICE facility.”

Benedict said he’s aware of at least one situation involving a First Nations man being allegedly detained and having his Certificate of Indian Status seized in the area of Rainy River (Treaty 3 territory), where the Canada-US border separates northern Minnesota and Ontario.

He said that he was told that the individual’s Certificate of Indian Status card had been taken.

“That individual seems to have been returned to Canada customs, which is probably the best-case scenario,” Benedict said. “We don’t want our members picked up and put into the system, because that would obviously be a horrific and possibly traumatic incident for members, and it also seems it could be quite a long process.”

Earlier this month, ICE agents, part of the Department of Homeland Security, fatally shot American citizen Renee Good, who, per video clips of the event, was attempting to drive her vehicle away from agents during an encounter in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the site of ongoing protests in response to a massive increase in ICE activity. Last Saturday, just over two weeks after Good’s death, ICE agents fatally shot Alex Pretti, also an American citizen in Minneapolis, with video footage of the incident showing officers tackling Pretti and shooting him multiple times in the back while he was on the ground.

Good had been involved in opposing ICE actions and had reportedly been acting as a legal observer of ICE activity at the time. Pretti, an intensive care unit (ICU) nurse, had also been present at protests opposing ICE action, and his family have spoken out about misinformation from US government officials, who since his death have claimed he was “the definition of domestic terrorism” and brandishing a gun. While Pretti had a concealed carry permit and was carrying a handgun in his waistband, he didn’t touch the firearm.

Mohawk Council of Kahnawake grand chief Cody Diabo, who is also co-chair of the JTBA, said that it’s imperative community members be prepared as possible when crossing the border under the current US administration.

“This is definitely a different America than we’ve all grown to understand and even respect in some ways,” said Diabo, who noted that US president Donald Trump’s second presidential term has brought about even more extreme measures than ever before.

“It’s definitely concerning the way it’s moving. You never would have imagined that this would be right on our doorstep at this moment.”

The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) this week released a statement condemning reports of increased questioning and detainment of First Nations individuals by ICE, and encouraged individuals to reach out to emergency lines if they run into trouble travelling to the US.

The Mohawk Council of Akwesanse (MCA) also shared a press release encouraging community members to carry with them all valid identification, to avoid approaching or interfering with active enforcement situations, and to store emergency contact numbers in their phones, adding that the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service and the Saint Regis Tribal Police will be meeting with US Customs and Border Protection leadership, also under the Department of Homeland Security, in the near future to discuss issues and concerns about ICE agents’ practices in the area.

The JTBA has put out a bulletin to members instructing them to carry additional documentation when crossing the border. Individuals born in the United States should carry their tribal identification card, a state-issued identification document or driver’s license, and a United States passport, the statement says.

Individuals born on the Canadian side of the border are Jay Treaty entrants, meaning they are legally authorized to live and work in the United States under Section 289 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Still, the JTBA is advising all individuals in this category to carry with them at all times a “tribal letter confirming at least 50 per cent American Indian blood quantum, a Secure Certificate of Indian Status (SCIS) card with red strip, a long-form birth certificate, form I-181 or I-551 (green card) if you have one, and government-issued photo identification.”

While Diabo said these requirements have always been allowed to be requested by immigration agents at the border, historically individuals have been permitted to cross using just their Certificate of Indian Status.

“What we’re seeing now is more of an aggressive following the law to a T, rather than relying on human decency,” Diabo said.

Community member Kyle Kaientoton Williams said he crosses the border a few times each year using only his band card, and that it’s always been respected in the past. He added that many in the community don’t get Canadian passports on principle, and argued that proving blood quantum to US border officials is “another huge can of worms.”

He said that it’s insulting for US officials to police who is and isn’t Indigenous.

“The border doesn’t really mean much to us as a nation that existed on both sides, so I do consider upstate New York area to be my homeland too, our language was spoken there for hundreds and likely thousands of years,” he said. “Who are these recent colonial immigrants to question us?

“The funniest obvious question is, where do you send a person who’s literally Indigenous to the land you’re standing on?”

He said that he’s not threatened by the possibility of increased questioning from agents, but that he thinks it’s important Indigenous people don’t support their actions.

“I’m not fearful or anything,” he said. “ICE and the current US government are a dangerous, incompetent, and embarrassing clown show.”

For fellow community member Kiona Akohseràke Deer, the actions of ICE have been disturbing. She said that it’s more crucial than ever that community members be aware of what’s happening on the other side of the border, and engage in speaking out against it.

“It’s not right that our people and our rights are being targeted like this. I hope more people will start speaking up against the Trump administration, we cannot stay silent against tyranny, especially when it comes to our rights to travel and even just exist on Turtle Island,” she said. “The Trump administration has no business coming after any of our people.”

Diabo encourages community members to exercise caution while they exercise their rights to enter the US.

“Don’t escalate the violence. Don’t do anything that’s going to cause them to try and harm you, I don’t want any of our community members being harmed, we’d figure it out on the back end,” he said. “You can’t fight and try to come up with something with an agent, do it in the court setting. That’s where you do the fighting, and you arm yourself with this knowledge.”

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