Elaine Miles, a Native American actor known for her starring role on the groundbreaking television series “Northern Exposure,” had a deeply disturbing run-in with ICE agents just last week. This event happened on the streets of Seattle, Washington. As she was walking to a bus stop in Redmond, Miles was suddenly approached by four men wearing masks. They arrested her because, after she produced a tribal ID, they claimed it “looked fake.”
The much-discussed incident sprung up when Miles reportedly called the ICE office on herself in an attempt to understand her status. At some point during this call, an officer tried to confiscate her phone, further raising her anxiety level. “Tribal IDs—the government issued those damn cards to us like a pedigree dog! It’s not fake!” Miles asserted, highlighting the frustrations faced by Indigenous peoples regarding their identification.
Miles’s experience is not an isolated case. Thousands of other Native Americans have documented similar experiences, especially under the Trump administration’s harsh immigration enforcement measures. Her son and uncle had experienced detention under similar circumstances in the past. ICE officers at the time initially refused to accept their tribal identification at that time.
Gabriel Galanda, a leading attorney and advocate for Indigenous rights, commented on the national impact of these occurrences. He stated, “What we’re talking about here is racial profiling.” He further emphasized that the targeting of individuals based on their appearance is a significant issue: “People are getting pulled over or detained on the street because of the dark color of their skin.”
After her apprehension, Miles told NOLA.com that she felt more anxious about going out of her house or at night. Similarly, many Indigenous communities are justifiably afraid of being racially profiled by authorities. That concern comes from their lived experiences and the fear that they will be discriminated against.
In response to the growing reports of Indigenous Americans being caught up in U.S. deportation raids, the Navajo Nation has announced measures to safeguard its members from federal immigration actions. This forward-thinking strategy is designed to safeguard Indigenous peoples too frequently excluded from the conversations around immigration enforcement.
Miles’s ordeal reflects a dangerous trend. It’s a tragic example of how Indigenous Americans are routinely denied justice under unjust immigration policies. An Indigenous woman born in Phoenix was recently mistaken for an undocumented immigrant and detained by authorities after being released from jail in Des Moines, Iowa, underscoring the urgent need for policy reform and greater awareness of these issues.