\n<\/p>\n
MINNEAPOLIS — <\/span>When U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement<\/a> flooded Minneapolis, Shane Mantz dug his Choctaw Nation citizenship card out of a box on his dresser and slid it into his wallet. <\/p>\n Some strangers mistake the pest-control company manager for Latino, he said, and he fears getting caught up in ICE raids.<\/a><\/p>\n Like Mantz, many Native Americans are carrying tribal documents proving their U.S. citizenship in case they are stopped or questioned by federal immigration agents. This is why dozens of the 575 federally recognized<\/a> Native nations are making it easier to get tribal IDs. They’re waiving fees, lowering the age of eligibility \u2014 ranging from 5 to 18 nationwide \u2014 and printing the cards faster.<\/p>\n It’s the first time tribal IDs have been widely used as proof of U.S. citizenship and protection against federal law enforcement, said David Wilkins, an expert on Native politics and governance at the University of Richmond.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s anything historically comparable,\u201d Wilkins said. \u201cI find it terribly frustrating and disheartening.\u201d<\/p>\n As Native Americans around the country rush to secure documents proving their right to live in the United States, many see a bitter irony.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the first people of this land, there\u2019s no reason why Native Americans should have their citizenship questioned,\u201d said Jaqueline De Le\u00f3n, a senior staff attorney with the nonprofit Native American Rights Fund and member of Isleta Pueblo.<\/p>\n The U.S. Department of Homeland Security didn\u2019t respond to more than four requests for comment over a week. <\/p>\n Since the mid- to late 1800s, the U.S. government has kept detailed genealogical records to estimate Native Americans\u2019 fraction of \u201cIndian blood\u201d and determine their eligibility for health care, housing, education and other services owed under federal legal responsibilities. Those records were also used to aid federal assimilation efforts and chip away at tribal sovereignty, communal lands and identity. <\/p>\n Beginning in the late 1960s, many tribal nations began issuing their own forms of identification. In the last two decades, tribal photo ID cards have become commonplace and can be used to vote in tribal elections, to prove U.S. work eligibility and for domestic air travel. <\/p>\n About 70% of Native Americans today live in urban areas, including tens of thousands in the Twin Cities<\/a>, one of the largest urban Native populations in the country. <\/p>\n There, in early January, a top ICE official announced the \u201clargest immigration operation ever.\u201d<\/p>\n Masked, heavily armed agents traveling in convoys of unmarked SUVs became commonplace in some neighborhoods. By this week, more than 3,400 people had been arrested, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. At least 2,000 ICE officers and 1,000 Border Patrol officers were on the ground.<\/p>\n