Indigenous actor says ICE agents branded her tribal ID ‘fake’ during stop

Elaine Miles, Native American actress, best known for her roles Northern Exposure and in smoke signalsays she was recently detained by ICE agents, who allegedly told her that her tribal ID issued in Oregon was “fake.”

In a social media post, Miles claimed she was walking to a bus stop near the Bear Creek Village shopping center in Redmond, Washington, to go to Target when four masked men in ICE-labeled vests emerged from two unmarked black SUVs and demanded her ID. seattle times Report.

She presented her ID from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon, which an agent reportedly described as “fake.”

According to Miles, another agent said, “Anyone can make it.”

Miles further said that the men, who he feared might also be bounty hunters, refused to give their names or badge numbers when they took him into custody.

When they rejected her tribal ID as illegitimate, she pointed to the enrollment office number printed on the back and asked her to call them. He didn’t. When he tried to call the office himself, agents tried unsuccessfully to take his phone.

At that moment, a fifth agent from an SUV whistled, and the group suddenly returned to their vehicles and drove off.

Independent ICE has been contacted for comment.

On November 4, King 5 reported that ICE had made recent arrests in Redmond and Issaquah.

According to the outlet, the agency’s regional director has set a new goal of 30 daily arrests in Oregon, Washington and Alaska, double the 2024 goal.

Miles’ post coincides with ICE arrests in Bear Creek Village. The incidents prompted the City Council to vote to turn off Flock Safety license-plate cameras due to concerns that they could be used in future immigration enforcement, although there is no evidence that they were used in these arrests. Seattle Times.

Miles said this incident was not isolated to his own family. Both her son and his uncle were previously detained by ICE agents, she said, who also questioned the validity of their tribal IDs before ultimately releasing them.

According to the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, the CTUIR is made up of three tribal nations: the Umatilla, Cayuse, and Walla Walla. Together, they form a unified tribal government that continues to maintain and protect their shared cultural and political sovereignty.

In 1855, these three tribes signed a treaty with the United States, ceding approximately 6.4 million acres of their ancestral homeland in what is now northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington.

Today, CTUIR consists of several thousand enrolled citizens, with a recent document estimating membership at approximately 3,100 people. About half of those members live on or near the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

The reservation is not only for CTUIR citizens but also for other native people from different tribes as well as non-natives.