On Jan. 8, an Indigenous man named Jose Roberto ‘Beto’ Ramirez was dragged from his vehicle in Minneapolis by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Despite insisting on both his U.S. and tribal citizenship, he was beaten, detained and then sent to an ICE detention center for questioning. After being told he would face charges for assaulting a federal officer, he was released over six hours after his initial encounter with ICE.
Let’s get one thing clear: There is nothing proving Ramirez did anything to provoke his detainment. He was tailed by ICE to a grocery store parking lot; they have not informed him or the public on why he was followed or detained.
Ramirez is not the only Indigenous person to be questioned by ICE, as Indigenous people across the country have reported being stopped. Nor is he the only one to be detained in Minnesota. Frank Star Comes Out, president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, has made statements saying that four homeless tribal members were reportedly detained by ICE agents in January; the veracity of his claim has not been independently corroborated. The Native American Rights Fund has called what’s happening in Minnesota racial profiling. I agree with NARF. In simple terms, Indigenous people are being questioned and detained because they have brown skin.
When I first heard Ramirez’s story, I was astounded. I thought that racial profiling was illegal; the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment bans any differential treatment of citizens based on race, including in law enforcement interactions. However, the Supreme Court granted an emergency request to allow ICE to stop and question anyone they think could be an illegal immigrant, even if the suspicion is based on skin color or language spoken. The Supreme Court has, for all intents and purposes, legalized racial profiling for immigration enforcement.
The irony of ICE detaining Indigenous people to deport them (to where?) is plain as day. And while it seems laughable that this is our current reality, the history of Indigenous people in the United States shows how this is nothing new. The evidence is right there in Minneapolis.
The Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, the current home of an ICE detention center in Minneapolis, is located on the land of Fort Snelling. During the height of 'Manifest Destiny' migration, the fort was used as a concentration camp to forcibly remove Indigenous peoples from their land. Built in 1862 during the Dakota Wars, Indigenous people were detained at Fort Snelling and eventually deported to reservations, paving the way for European migrants to settle the entire continental United States. This is just one example of many.
I strongly believe that no human can be classified as illegal on land that was stolen. You can argue over specific treaties, but it is extremely clear that systematic land dispossession was perpetuated against Indigenous peoples in this country. Indigenous peoples were also denied citizenship in the United States until the 1900s.
Immigrants, no matter their skin color, have an equal claim to this country as any other. And while you can argue over specific visas and asylum applications until you turn blue, the vast majority of people trying to enter this country want to work in this nation, to have a community in this nation. How can we, as a nation, deny today’s immigrants the chance our ancestors received? As the descendant of both Indigenous people and immigrants who came through Ellis Island, I cannot stand by while ICE violently violates the fundamental principles of American civil liberties, which I hold dear.
The atrocious disregard for civil rights shown by ICE, both against immigrants and Indigenous people, is abhorrent. Whether you are considered legal or illegal, Indigenous or non-Indigenous, what we are seeing today is a violation of your basic human rights. You deserve to walk your streets without fear of questioning or deportation. You deserve to exist without the threat of discrimination based on the color of your skin. What happened to Ramirez, what is happening to hundreds of thousands of people in this country, must come to an end.
