{"id":377272,"date":"2026-01-13T20:10:44","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T02:10:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=377272"},"modified":"2026-01-15T07:42:53","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T13:42:53","slug":"indian-country-swept-up-in-anti-immigration-agenda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2026\/01\/13\/indian-country-swept-up-in-anti-immigration-agenda\/","title":{"rendered":"Indian Country swept up in anti-immigration agenda"},"content":{"rendered":"
\r\n
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Veto\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t
\n\t\t\n\t\t\tVeto Message on H.R.504, the Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
\n\t\t\n\t\t\t

The U.S. House of Representatives considers the veto message on H.R.504, the Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act.The bill adds an area known as Osceola C…<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

\n\t\t\"YouTube\"\t\tYouTube\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
Indianz.Com Video: Veto Message on H.R.504, the Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n
Indian Country swept up in anti-immigration agenda<\/div>\r\n
Tribes across nation impacted by aggressive Republican policies — and politics<\/div>\r\n
Tuesday, January 13, 2026<\/div>\r\n
By Acee Agoyo<\/div>\r\n
Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe Miccosukee Tribe<\/a> isn’t backing down from its commitment to protect its homelands despite being rebuked by President Donald Trump<\/a> and abandoned by Republicans in Congress<\/a> amid a national immigration crackdown that has Indian Country reeling.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nOn Tuesday, the tribe filed a new brief<\/a> in an ongoing lawsuit challenging a controversial immigration detention facility in the Everglades of Florida<\/a>. The litigation against Alligator Alcatraz<\/a> — and the fact that the tribe had previously secured a legal victory in federal court — was the source of Trump’s retaliation against the Miccosukee people.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n“The Tribe\u2019s constitutional commitment to this land runs deep: ‘It\u2019s written\r\ninto their Constitution to protect the Everglades because the Everglades protected\r\nthem when they were being hunted by the Government,'” the 58-page document<\/a> reads\r\n

<\/P>\r\nAccording to the brief, the history of being hunted by the United States is continuing — nearly two centuries after a series of conflicts in the 1800s known as the Seminole Wars<\/a>.\r\nPhysical checkpoints are hindering access to traditional sites in the Big Cypress National Preserve of Florida<\/a> and armed guards are patrolling areas where Miccosukee citizens have long practiced their culture.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n“The physical barriers erected around the facility now block Tribal members\u2019\r\nprimary access to Big Cypress for traditional activities,” the brief states.\r\n“Checkpoints and guards stand where open land once welcomed Tribal hunters, fishers, and\r\ngatherers.”\r\n

<\/P>\r\n“Tribal members now face the inadvisable prospect of ‘approach[ing] the security guards armed prepared for hunt,'” the brief reads.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\"Alligator<\/a>

The Alligator Alcatraz facility is operated by the state of Florida as a federal detention facility for immigrants. Photo: Daniel Torok \/ White House<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe brief features maps and images that detail how Alligator Alcatraz has disrupted the tribe’s way of life. The detention facility lies near the border of the Miccosukee Reservation, and several tribal communities — including two schools — are located in close proximity to the controversial site.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nBut in spite of the tribe’s longtime existence in the Everglades, Miccosukee leaders say they were never consulted by the state of Florida, or by the federal government, about Alligator Alcatraz. As a result, they say their people are facing “ongoing harms” from the operation of the first state-run, federally-funded immigration detention facility in their own backyard.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n“Adding insult to injury is that these harms were entirely avoidable. Had the\r\nDefendants engaged in meaningful consultation with the Tribe, as required under\r\n[federal law], the Tribe\u2019s objections could have surfaced earlier and the Tribe\r\ncould have proposed alternatives before harm occurred,” the brief states in reference to the Florida Division of Emergency Management, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n

"This is a treaty violation. Treaties are not optional. Sovereignty is not conditional. Our citizens are not negotiable": Oglala Sioux Tribe says at least four tribal citizens were detained by #ICE<\/a> in Minnesota. One released but others still in custody, according to news release. pic.twitter.com\/Ny8R5MsDmm<\/a><\/p>— indianz.com (@indianz) January 13, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>