The Penobscot Nation has urged its members to carry their tribal identification amid President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
That comes as other tribes, such as the Navajo Nation and the Mescalero Apache Tribe, report that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have questioned their members, according to Axios.
In a Wednesday statement, the Penobscot Nation said it’s not aware of ICE agents stopping and questioning the citizenship of its members. But advised tribe members to take precautions.
“We encourage all Tribal citizens to carry your Tribal ID, as we understand that your Tribal ID is sufficient proof of citizenship,“ the nation said, adding that members should contact the tribal office if they need an ID.
Trump campaigned on a pledge to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants, and on his first day in office, he signed a flurry of executive orders laying the groundwork for the crackdown, including an attempt to end birthright citizenship. That order faces a flurry of legal challenges, including from the Maine ACLU and Maine attorney general.
In response to reports of immigration agents questioning the citizenship of tribal members, some tribes are waiving fees to get an ID while others are advising members to record any encounters with ICE, Axios reported.
The Penobscot Nation also said Wednesday it was assessing the potential impact of the Trump administration order seeking to freeze all federal financial assistance.
“Tribal governments are political entities with a government-to-government relationship with the federal government. The federal government has a trust and treaty obligation to us and the various federal programs for Tribal governments are intended to meet those obligations. We do not believe that Tribal government programs were intended to be covered by President Trump’s Executive Orders, and we are working to confirm that understanding,” the tribe said.
That order was poised to upset everything from medical research to Medicaid and “food stamps,” to rural energy projects, to home energy efficiency projects, to heating aid, to tribal health care, to public broadcasting.
A federal judge halted that order shortly before that deadline and stayed its enforcement until at least Feb. 3. But on Wednesday Matthew Vaeth, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, who issued the two-page memo, rescinded the order in a terse, two-sentence document sent to federal agencies.
