An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer warns a photographer to stay back as they detain a person outside the Richfield, Minn. Menards on Saturday, Jan. 10. As ICE detainments happen in the Midwest, local tribes have offered suggestions for their members on how to navigate interactions with the agency. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan, a nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization. Visit the newsroom online: bridgemi.com.

Native American tribes in Michigan are warning members to carry tribal and state identification on them at all times in case they’re stopped by federal immigration officials.

The warnings came in response to reports that multiple Native Americans had been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during ongoing raids in Minneapolis.

“Irony maybe is the word,” said Ryan Mills, general counsel of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, “because not only are Native Americans citizens of the state they live in and the tribe they are part of, ultimately … they were here before the government of the United States was created.”

Mills said he knew of no instances of ICE detaining Native Americans in Michigan, but tribal members had reached out to the tribal government with concerns that ICE was targeting non-white people across the nation.

ICE did not immediately respond to requests for comment on this story, but a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told ProPublica in October that agents do not racially profile or target Americans and that “we don’t arrest US citizens for immigration enforcement.”

A US Supreme Court ruling in September cleared the way for ICE to use race and language as grounds for immigration stops.

ProPublica identified at least 170 US citizens detained — sometimes for days — by ICE agents during the first nine months of President Donald Trump’s second term.

“It just creates anxiety,” Mills said.

Many of the detained US citizens were accused of obstructing ICE activities.

Tribes such as the Sault Tribe, the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians and the Bay Mills Indian Community have in recent days publicly urged their citizens to carry ID and to know their rights if they are stopped by an ICE agent, including the right to remain silent and the right to request an attorney.

“Bay Mills Indian Community has tribal citizens across the United States who have experienced increased interaction and increased insecurity regarding their safety — even in the Eastern Upper Peninsula,” Bay Mills Indian Community President Whitney Gravelle said in a written statement to Bridge Michigan.

“This information was shared to inform our tribal citizens and all guests on our lands of their constitutional rights. Tribal sovereignty includes respect for all individuals, living or working, on tribal lands.”

Local tribes within the immediate area include the Hannahville Indian Community, a Potawatomi band; and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

A portion of a statement released by the Sault Tribe on Jan. 14 contains the following advice:

“First, tribal citizens concerned about potential encounters with ICE are encouraged to carry their tribal identification card or a copy of their degree of Indian blood, along with a state-issued ID at all times. Tribal identification affirms tribal citizenship and political status and establishes your identity as a member of a federally recognized tribal nation and as a United States citizen.

“Second, if you are harassed, stopped or detained by ICE, remain calm. You have the right to remain silent and the right to ask to speak with an attorney. Do not sign anything ICE gives you. As a tribal citizen, you cannot be deported. ICE cannot enter your home without a warrant signed by a judge, and you are within your rights to ask them to identify themselves as ICE agents with proper documentation.”

The statement may be read in entirety at https://www.saulttribe.com/newsroom/9182-statement-condemning-ice-activity-in-minority-communities.

While the original report was compiled by Bridge Michigan, this article contains additional reporting by the Daily Press.