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Aida Duarte
4/20/15
Professor Smith
Issue Brief
Latinos and Native Americans: The Anti-Illegal Immigration Overlap
Keywords: SB 1070, Land Jurisdiction, Tohono O’odham Nation, Inter Tribal Council of
Arizona, Navajo Nation, Border-crossing apprehensions.
Description: Arizona’s SB 1070 law attempts to limit illegal immigration while simultaneously
running into problems with Native American laws. Parts of SB 1070 conflict with Native
American ways of life, such as the laws requirement of carrying documentation which is not a
current requirement for Native Americans.
Key Points:
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Arizona’s SB 1070 would allow police officers to ask an individual for their legal
status under “probable suspicion” and after a “legal stop.”
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Native Americans have found themselves subject to police questioning
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Enforcement of SB 1070 conflicts with Native American law.
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An increase of protection along borders has created more violence on the routes many
illegal immigrants and drug cartels take
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The strict security along the border has caused illegal immigrants to trespass and
cause damage to Native American property.
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Brief: Native Americans and Mexican Americans have faced similar grievances due to anti
illegal immigration laws. Arizona’s SB1070 is an attempt to stop illegal immigration from
Mexico specifically. Arizona’s controversial law, which allows police enforcement to question a
person’s legal status upon “reasonable
suspicion” that they are an illegal alien
has affected not only Mexican
Americans in particular, but also
Native Americans. Through the
discrimination and increase in drug
related violence both groups suffer
from aggressive anti illegal
immigration reform Arizona’s 2010
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/5/25/us-mexicoborderwreakshavocwithlivesofanindigenousdesertpeople.html
anti illegal immigration law. SB 1070 brings tension to Native American communities who are
not obliged to follow state law—finding themselves in the middle. Arizona’s SB 1070 allows
police officers to ask an individual for their legal status under “probable suspicion” and after a
“legal stop.” This act is the broadest and strictest anti-illegal measure Arizona has ever passed.
The controversy arises from its discriminatory nature of determining or questioning someone’s
legal status based on “suspicion” that could be based on appearances. Native American tribes are
arguing that the law was written without taking into consideration the unique status of the tribes.
“Tribes have jurisdiction within their land, and state law doesn’t apply,” said John Lewis,
executive director of the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona (Wyloge). The tribes argue that the law
will violate their sovereignty on their land and their members’ civil rights since long-accepted
ways of life would suddenly change for the law. “Reasonable suspicion” would lead officers to
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question the legal status of Native Americans, whose legal presence within the U.S has never
been questioned or required to prove tribal and/or legal documentation. Similarly, English is a
second language for many tribes which could be seen as base for “reasonable suspicion.” Thus,
many leaders such as Navajo Nation Councilman Delegate Kee Allen Begay state that the law
violates the civil rights of the Navajo Nation since they will be disproportionately targeted
because some police might presume they are Hispanic. While SB 1070 states that race cannot be
used as a reason for questioning, the controversial aspects of the bill make discrimination a high
concern for many. Thus, Mexican Americans—Latinos in general—are not the only victims of
racial profiling.
Aggressive anti immigration laws have also affected Native Americans and Mexicans
through the increase of drug related violence near the borders. While drug related crime rates
along the U.S and Mexico border
have dropped, this drop does not
include the border between Mexico
and the Tohono O’odham Nation, a
Native American reservation located
in the Sonoran Dessert, 60 miles
south of Tucson, Arizona, right on
the U.S border with Mexico. While
border-crossing apprehensions in
Arizona went down 43% from 2011-
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/5/25/us-mexicoborderwreakshavocwithlivesofanindigenousdesertpeople.html
2013, the amount of marijuana obtained in the Tohono O’odham Nation has doubled since 2010
(Kilpatrick). The increase in border patrol has caused many drug cartels to use different routes—
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which include trespassing on reservations. Many Native American residents state that they have
had their property stolen and homes broken into multiple times (Effron). This increase in
violence came as no surprise to Gustavo Soto of the Border Patrol’s Tucson sector as he stated,
“We knew this was going to be happening. It’s one of the side effects of securing the border”
(Martinez and Avila). The increase of border security to stop illegal immigration has created a
problem for smugglers due to limited paths. Mexican officials state that drug smugglers and
illegal immigrants typically share the same routes, thus the increase in security makes these
smugglers less tolerant and more violent towards migrants who are using the same routes. Thus,
the increase of anti illegal immigration laws and border security has caused an atmosphere of
unrest and violence for both Native Americans and Mexicans.
Both Native American groups and Mexicans face similar grievances due to anti illegal
immigration reform. While attempts to end illegal immigration is targeted particularly for
Mexican migrants, both Mexican Americans and Native Americans fall victim to possible
discrimination and violence that comes with securing the U.S border.
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Works Cited
Effron, Lauren. “In Efforts to Secure US- Mexico Border, Ariz. Native Americans Feel Caught
in the Middle.” ABC News. 27 Jun. 2013. Web.
Kilpatrick, Katie. “U.S-Mexico Border Wreaks Havoc on Lives of an Indigenous Desert Tribe.”
Aljazeera America. 25 May. 2014.
Michael Martinez and Oscar Avila. “Fewer illegal border crossings accompanied by more
violence.” McClatchy- Tribune News Service 17 Feb. 2007. Web
Wyloge, Evan. “Native American Tribes Say They Won’t Enforce Immigration Law.” Arizona
Capitol Times. 14 Jun. 2010. Web
References
http://www.tonation-nsn.gov/
https://www.aclu.org/feature/arizonas-sb-1070
http://itcaonline.com/