10 signatures reached
To: Lieutenant Governor Flanagan, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, Scott Fetgatter, Joint Committee on State-Tribal Relations
The Original Citizens Jurisdiction and Protection Act
My name is Holly Jackson and I am a Minnesota resident and Native American citizen. I'm reaching out to you with deep respect for your leadership and long standing advocacy for tribal sovereignty native citizenship and civil rights.
I'm currently developing a proposed piece of federal legislation tentatively titled “The Original Citizens Jurisdiction and Protection Act.” The purpose of the bill is to clarify and limit the authority of federal immigration enforcement agencies when interacting with Native American citizens, ensuring that native people are not detained or processed through immigration systems and that any legitimate criminal matters are handled by local or tribal law enforcement with proper jurisdiction.
This proposal is rooted in lived experience, jurisdictional confusion that continues to harm native communities, and the ongoing need to affirm that Native Americans are citizens and members of sovereign nations not subjects of immigration enforcement.
Why is this important?
The Original Citizens Jurisdiction and Protection Act is a proposed federal law designed to clarify jurisdictional authority and prevent the unlawful detention of Native American citizens by federal immigration enforcement agencies the bill affirms tribal sovereignty recognizes Native Americans as U.S. citizens and establishes clear procedures when immigration agents encounter native individuals in the course of their duties
The issue at hand:
Native American citizens are increasingly subject to improper stops detentions and transfers by US Customs and Border protection and immigration customs enforcement these incidents stem from jurisdictional confusion, racial profiling, and a failure to recognize tribal citizenship in sovereignty. Native Americans - who are citizens of the United States and members of sovereign nations have been detained in immigration facilities despite having no immigration status issues and there is currently no federal statute that explicitly limits immigration enforcement authority in these situations or establishes a required handoff to appropriate criminal jurisdiction.