{"id":472881,"date":"2026-04-01T21:29:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T02:29:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=472881"},"modified":"2026-04-02T12:08:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T17:08:49","slug":"im-not-sure-trump-attorney-stumbles-on-american-indian-citizenship-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2026\/04\/01\/im-not-sure-trump-attorney-stumbles-on-american-indian-citizenship-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;I&#8217;m not sure&#8217;: Trump attorney stumbles on American Indian citizenship questions"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\">\r\n<div class=\"responsive-video\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u2018I\u2019m not sure\u2019: Trump attorney stumbles on American Indian citizenship questions\" width=\"422\" height=\"750\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PuhsX1wcZek?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Indianz.Com Video:\r\n<a href=https:\/\/youtube.com\/shorts\/PuhsX1wcZek>&#8216;Do you think Native Americans today are birthright citizens?&#8217;<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<div class=\"h3-responsive font-weight-bold\">&#8216;I&#8217;m not sure&#8217;: Trump attorney stumbles on American Indian citizenship questions<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\">Wednesday, April 1, 2026<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"byline\">By Acee Agoyo<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"source\">Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nQuestions about the legal status of American Indians came up repeatedly as the highest court in the land took up a citizenship case that has been at the center of Donald Trump&#8217;s anti-immigrant agenda.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nIn one of his first actions as president in January 2025, <a href=https:\/\/www.naacpldf.org\/case-issue\/know-your-rights-birthright-citizenship\/>Trump declared that children born to immigrants are not American citizens<\/a>. His drastic reinterpretation of long-standing law led to a high-stakes dispute that reached the <a href=https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/>U.S. Supreme Court<\/a> on Wednesday.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nBut over the course of a <a href=https:\/\/on.soundcloud.com\/76ImLpgiuU4k0twM71>two-hour hearing<\/a> in the nation&#8217;s capital, the justices repeatedly asked questions about the original Americans &#8212; those who belong to sovereign tribal nations whose continued existence pre-dates the United States. The inquiries seemed to stump the  federal government attorney who argued the case on behalf of the Republican president.\r\n<P><\/p>\r\nOne of the key exchanges came courtesy of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Neil_Gorsuch\">Justice Neil Gorsuch<\/a>, who <a href=https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/2017\/02\/17\/tribes-find-common-ground-with-donald-tr.asp>joined the court<\/a> nearly a decade ago with the <a href=https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/2017\/03\/20\/supreme-court-nominee-fares-well-in-revi.asp>most extensive experience in Indian law<\/a>. He wanted to know whether tribal citizens are considered Americans under Trump&#8217;s new interpretation.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n&#8220;Are tribal members born today birthright citizens?&#8221; asked Gorsuch, who was Trump&#8217;s first nominee to the high court back in January 2017.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n&#8220;I think so on our test, yeah, if they&#8217;re lawfully domiciled here,&#8221; responded D. John Sauer, who as <a href=https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/osg>Solicitor General of the United States<\/a> represented Trump&#8217;s position.\r\n<P><\/p>\r\n<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\">\r\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/w65aw82x2Ko?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent&#038;listType=playlist&#038;list=PLUZ4SOc8isRdFvhnl4arp0XOgxjK-x51s\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Indianz.Com Audio:\r\n<a href=https:\/\/youtu.be\/w65aw82x2Ko?list=PLUZ4SOc8isRdFvhnl4arp0XOgxjK-x51s>Donald Trump v. Barbara: Birthright Citizenship at U.S. Supreme Court (Playlist)<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nYet when Gorsuch   pressed a little more,  Sauer didn&#8217;t seem as convinced of the notion that American Indians are entitled to citizenship on their own homelands.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n&#8220;I&#8217;m not sure,&#8221; said Sauer, who was chosen for his position at the <a href=https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/>Department of Justice<\/a> by Trump. &#8220;I have to think through that, but that&#8217;s my reaction.&#8221;\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nBy this time, Gorsuch  had already posed the question in a different manner. Sauer told the court that American Indians are considered U.S. citizens &#8220;by statute&#8221; &#8212; through the <a href=https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Indian_Citizenship_Act>Indian Citizenship Act<\/a> that Congress passed in 1924.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n&#8220;Putting aside the statute, do you think they&#8217;re birthright citizens?&#8221; Gorsuch asked.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n&#8220;No,&#8221; said Sauer. &#8220;I think the clear understanding that everybody agrees in the Congressional debates is that the children of tribal Indians are not birthright citizens.&#8221;\r\n<p><\/P>\r\n&#8220;I understand that&#8217;s what they said, but your test is the domicile of the parents, and that would be the test you&#8217;d have us apply today, right?&#8221; Gorsuch replied, underscoring what Trump  has expressed in his defense of the <a href=https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/01\/protecting-the-meaning-and-value-of-american-citizenship\/>birthright citizenship order<\/a>.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n&#8220;Yes,&#8221; said Sauer, seemingly contradicting his position and, by extension, that of Trump&#8217;s\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2026\/04\/01\/im-not-sure-trump-attorney-stumbles-on-american-indian-citizenship-questions\/supremecourt-50\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-473128\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1600\" data-attachment-id=\"473128\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2026\/04\/01\/im-not-sure-trump-attorney-stumbles-on-american-indian-citizenship-questions\/supremecourt-50\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/02\/SupremeCourt.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2048,1600\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"U.S. Supreme Court\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Demonstrators outside the U.S. Supreme Court as the justices hear arguments in a birthright citizenship case on April 1, 2026. Photo: &lt;a href=https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/vpickering\/55182347456\/&gt;Victoria Pickering&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Demonstrators outside the U.S. Supreme Court as the justices hear arguments in a birthright citizenship case on April 1, 2026. Photo: &lt;a href=https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/vpickering\/55182347456\/&gt;Victoria Pickering&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/02\/SupremeCourt.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/02\/SupremeCourt.jpg\" alt=\"U.S. Supreme Court\"  class=\"size-full wp-image-473128\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\"> Demonstrators outside the U.S. Supreme Court as the justices hear arguments in a birthright citizenship case on April 1, 2026. Photo: <a href=https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/vpickering\/55182347456\/>Victoria Pickering<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThe  questions, which came about 40 minutes into the hearing, highlighted the extreme nature of Trump&#8217;s directive. Is the Republican president going against the U.S. Constitution, as well as Congress, by  rescinding the citizenship rights of any person &#8212; Indian or not &#8212; who was born in the United States?\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nGorsuch appeared to understand that Sauer was not about concede that Trump got it wrong. So he ended the inquiries there after less than a minute on the issue of American Indians and U.S. citizenship.  \r\n<P><\/P>\r\n&#8220;I&#8217;ll take the yes,&#8221; Gorsuch said at the end of the exchange, accepting Sauer&#8217;s answer as the apparently correct one &#8212; at least when it comes to the legal status of American Indians.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n &#8220;That&#8217;s all right,&#8221; Gorsuch added, drawing laughter from a courtroom audience that happened to include the president himself.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nAlthough Trump did not stay for the entire hearing, his presence was indeed unprecedented. Never before in <a href=https:\/\/america250.org\/>250 years of American history<\/a> has a president, as the leader of the executive branch of the U.S. government, attended an argument at the Supreme Court, the highest level of the judiciary branch.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nTrump&#8217;s immigration agenda, which sparked outrage across the country following the killings of two Americans by federal agents and the arrests and detentions of Native people, is also in an unusual stage. Just last week, a new figurehead was installed in his cabinet &#8212; <a href=https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2026\/03\/25\/theres-nothing-more-important-secretary-mullin-pushes-controversial-voting-bill-despite-native-objections\/>Markwayne Mullin<\/a>, who as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation is the first Native person to lead the <a href=https:\/\/www.dhs.gov\/>Department of Homeland Security<\/a>.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n&#8220;I don&#8217;t care if you&#8217;re red or you&#8217;re blue,&#8221; Mullin said at the White House on March 24. &#8220;At the end of the day, my job is to be Secretary of Homeland and to protect everybody the same.&#8221;\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\">\r\n<div class=\"responsive-video\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"&#039;Native American? I didn&#039;t know that&#039;\" width=\"422\" height=\"750\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yITJ1DuNB5o?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Indianz.Com Video:\r\n<a href=https:\/\/youtube.com\/shorts\/yITJ1DuNB5o>&#8216;Native American? I didn&#8217;t know that&#8217;<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nBut as the birthright citizenship case underscores, &#8220;everybody&#8221; in Trump&#8217;s mind does not include children who were born in America to immigrant parents. More specifically, his executive order links a minor&#8217;s status to whether or not the mother is  &#8220;unlawfully present&#8221; in the U.S., a position that goes against more than 150 years of law and policy following the addition of the <a href=https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fourteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution>14th Amendment to the  Constitution<\/a> in 1868.\r\n<P><\/p>\r\n&#8220;Ask any American what our citizenship rule is and they&#8217;ll tell you, everyone born\r\nhere is a citizen alike,&#8221; said Cecillia D. Wang, an attorney representing young people harmed by the president&#8217;s executive  order.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n&#8220;That rule was enshrined in the 14th Amendment to put it out of the reach of any government official to destroy,&#8221; added Wang, who serves as the <a href=https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/bios\/cecillia-wang>national legal director at the American Civil Liberties Union<\/a>.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nAlthough the <a href=https:\/\/www.bia.gov\/faqs\/what-federal-indian-trust-responsibility>U.S. government &#8220;has charged itself with moral obligations of the highest responsibility and trust&#8221; to tribes and tribal citizens<\/a>, the Trump administration&#8217;s briefs to the Supreme Court appeared to diminish the nation-to-nation relationship. One passage authored by Sauer even rejected a comparison between tribal sovereignty and that of foreign nations, foreshadowing his clumsy exchange with Gorsuch.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nAnd  two Indian law scholars, <a href=https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/20260226125541217_barbara-amicus-brief\/>in their own brief<\/a>, called  the Trump administration&#8217;s views &#8220;superficial and ill-informed.&#8221; In arguing that the birthright citizenship order violates the  Constitution, they reminded the high court of the existence of tribal sovereignty.\r\n<P><\/p>\r\n&#8220;The United States did not legislate the internal affairs of Indians or adjudicate crimes between them,&#8221; Indian law professors Gregory Ablavsky and Bethany Berger wrote in the brief.\r\n&#8220;Instead, Congress dealt with Indian tribes through treaties, as it did with other sovereigns.&#8221;\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nIn a further explanation of the nation-to-nation relationship,  Ablasvky and Berger wrote that the &#8220;United States regulated its relationship with tribes through treaties, as it did with other sovereigns. But such treaties no more made Indians subject to ordinary U.S. law than contemporaneous treaties with France or Spain placed their residents under ordinary U.S. law.&#8221;\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This is appalling.<br><br>Indigenous people are the original inhabitants of this continent and, here in New Mexico, we live that truth every day. The fact that the Solicitor General of the United States would hesitate on our citizenship is outrageous and horrific. He doesn\u2019t understand\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/g5eSmzmLlj\">https:\/\/t.co\/g5eSmzmLlj<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Deb Haaland (@DebHaalandNM) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DebHaalandNM\/status\/2039390384980402228?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 1, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThe Trump administration&#8217;s interpretations  drew widespread attention following the Supreme Court hearing. Democrats criticized the Trump administration for bringing Indian Country into the debate over birthright citizenship without a full understanding of tribal sovereignty.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n&#8220;This is appalling,&#8221; said <a href=https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Deb_Haaland>Deb Haaland<\/a>, who made history as the first Native person in a presidential cabinet, serving under Joe Biden as the leader of the Department of the Interior.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n&#8220;Indigenous people are the original inhabitants of this continent and, here in New Mexico, we live that truth every day,&#8221; said Haaland, a citizen of the <a href=https:\/\/www.lagunapueblo-nsn.gov\/>Pueblo of Laguna<\/a> who is <a href=https:\/\/debhaaland.com\/>running for governor in her home state<\/a>. The fact that the Solicitor General of the United States would hesitate on our citizenship is outrageous and horrific.&#8221;\r\n<P><\/p>\r\n&#8220;He doesn\u2019t understand basic American history or the law, and he has no business holding this position,&#8221; Haaland concluded in a <a href=https:\/\/x.com\/DebHaalandNM\/status\/2039390384980402228>post on social media<\/a>.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I don&#39;t have to think this through\u2014Native people aren\u2019t just citizens, we are the original peoples of this land. Our sovereignty and identity aren\u2019t up for debate. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/d4NWTA3wHI\">https:\/\/t.co\/d4NWTA3wHI<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Jonathan Nez (@NezForAZ) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NezForAZ\/status\/2039411734759497789?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 1, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n&#8220;I don&#8217;t have to think this through &#8212; Native people aren\u2019t just citizens, we are the original peoples of this land,&#8221; said <a href=https:\/\/www.jonathannezforaz.com>Jonathan Nez<\/a>, a former president of the <a href=https:\/\/www.navajo-nsn.gov\/>Navajo Nation<\/a> who is running for the <a href=https:\/\/www.house.gov\/>U.S. House of Representatives<\/a> in Arizona&#8217;s 2nd Congressional district.\r\n<P><\/p>\r\n&#8220;Our sovereignty and identity aren\u2019t up for debate,&#8221; Nez, a Democrat, said in a <a href=https:\/\/x.com\/NezForAZ\/status\/2039411734759497789>post on social media<\/a>.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n&#8220;Imagine going before the Supreme Court to attack birthright citizenship and being unable to say Native Americans are American citizens,&#8221; <a href=https:\/\/fernandez.house.gov\/>Rep. Teresa Leger Fern\u00e1ndez<\/a> (D-New Mexico), who is the <a href=https:\/\/democrats-naturalresources.house.gov\/subcommittees\/indian-and-insular-affairs>highest-ranking Democrat on the House Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs<\/a>, said in a <a href=https:\/\/x.com\/RepTeresaLF\/status\/2039376071120892274>post on social media<\/a>.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n&#8220;This was never about the Constitution. It\u2019s about exclusion,&#8221; said Fern\u00e1ndez, whose district in New Mexico includes 18 tribal nations.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Imagine going before the Supreme Court to attack birthright citizenship and being unable to say Native Americans are American citizens.<br><br>This was never about the Constitution. It\u2019s about exclusion. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/QkWvBAnhCf\">https:\/\/t.co\/QkWvBAnhCf<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Rep. Teresa Leger Fern\u00e1ndez (@RepTeresaLF) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepTeresaLF\/status\/2039376071120892274?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 1, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nOf the nine members of the Supreme Court, Trump nominated three of them: Neil Gorsuch, <a href=https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Brett_Kavanaugh>Brett Kavanaugh<\/a> and <a href=Amy Coney Barrett>Amy Coney Barrett<\/a>. Barrett also asked a number of questions about tribes and citizenship during the oral arguments.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nThree other members were nominated by Republican presidents: Chief Justice <a href=https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_Roberts>John G. Roberts Jr.<\/a>, <a href=Clarence Thomas>Clarence Thomas<\/a> and <a href=https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Samuel_Alito>Samuel Alito<\/a>. The  leaves just  three   Democratic nominees:  <a href=https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sonia_Sotomayor>Sonia Sotomayor<\/a>, <a href=https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Elena_Kagan>Elena Kagan<\/a> and  <a href=https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ketanji_Brown_Jackson>Ketanji Brown Jackson<\/a>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nTrump issued his birthright citizenship executive order on his first day of office on January 20, 2025. Litigation followed in a number of federal courts across the nation, resulting in decisions that struck down the order as unconstitutional. \r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThe lawsuits  include  the case known as <a href=https:\/\/www.scotusblog.com\/cases\/case-files\/trump-v-barbara\/><em>Trump v. Barbara<\/em><\/a>, which originated in  federal court in New Hampshire. The Secretary of Homeland Security, the position now held by Markwayne Mullin, is named as a defendant.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<em>Barbara<\/em>, docketed as <a href=https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/docket\/DocketFiles\/HTML\/public\/25-365.html>No. 25-365<\/a>, was the case heard  by the Supreme Court on Wednesday.\r\n<P><\/p>\r\n A decision in <em>Barbara<\/em> is expected before the end of the Supreme Court&#8217;s current term, which <a href=https:\/\/sct.narf.org\/documents.html>began last October<\/a>. The high court typically issues its final rulings in the last week of June or sometimes in early July, as was the situation with <a href=https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2020\/07\/09\/on-the-far-end-of-the-trail-of-tears-nat.asp>Justice Gorsuch&#8217;s landmark ruling<\/a> about the continued existence of Indian Country in the state of Oklahoma.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<div class=\"h4-responsive\">Related Stories<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"related-story\"><a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2026\/03\/25\/theres-nothing-more-important-secretary-mullin-pushes-controversial-voting-bill-despite-native-objections\/\" title=\"\u2018There\u2019s nothing more important\u2019: Secretary Mullin pushes controversial voting bill despite Native objections\">\u2018There\u2019s nothing more important\u2019: Secretary Mullin pushes controversial voting bill despite Native objections<\/a> (March 25, 2026)<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"related-story\"><a 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in surprise shakeup<\/a> (March 6, 2026)<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"related-story\"><a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2026\/02\/23\/cronkite-news-tribal-and-american-citizens-caught-up-in-anti-immigration-agenda\/\" title=\"Cronkite News: Tribal and American citizens caught up in anti-immigration agenda\">Cronkite News: Tribal and American citizens caught up in anti-immigration agenda<\/a> (February 23, 2026)<\/div><div class=\"related-story\"><a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2026\/02\/03\/gaylord-news-immigration-agents-sweep-into-indian-country\/\" title=\"Gaylord News: Immigration agents sweep into Indian Country\">Gaylord News: Immigration agents sweep into Indian Country<\/a> (February 3, 2026)<\/div><div class=\"related-story\"><a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2026\/01\/13\/indian-country-swept-up-in-anti-immigration-agenda\/\" title=\"Indian Country swept up in anti-immigration agenda\">Indian Country swept up in anti-immigration agenda<\/a> (January 13, 2026)<\/div><div class=\"related-story\"><a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2026\/01\/06\/president-trump-vetoes-tribal-homelands-bill-with-swipe-at-trust-relationship\/\" title=\"President Trump vetoes tribal homelands bill with swipe at trust relationship\">President Trump vetoes tribal homelands bill with swipe at trust relationship<\/a> (January 6, 2026)<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"related-story\"><a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2025\/06\/30\/cronkite-news-president-trump-claims-victory-in-birthright-citizenship-case\/\" title=\"Cronkite News: President Trump claims victory in birthright citizenship case\">Cronkite News: President Trump claims victory in birthright citizenship case<\/a> (June 30, 2025)<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Questions about American Indians came up repeatedly as the highest court in the land took up birthright citizenship, an issue at the center of Donald Trump\u2019s anti-immigrant agenda.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":473128,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,13,1,14,334],"tags":[5366,3770,42,3401,7336,170,7335,346,88,94,336,362,75,7337,7338,49,48,697,28,72,296,55,429,167,220,84,1168,154,102],"class_list":["post-472881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indian-trust","category-law","category-national","category-politics","category-video","tag-119th","tag-1st-circuit","tag-arizona","tag-bethany-berger","tag-cecillia-wang","tag-congress","tag-d-john-sauer","tag-dc","tag-deb-haaland","tag-democrats","tag-dhs","tag-doj","tag-donald-trump","tag-elections-2026","tag-gregory-ablavsky","tag-hnrc","tag-house","tag-immigration","tag-jonathan-nez","tag-judiciary","tag-markwayne-mullin","tag-native-vote","tag-neil-gorsuch","tag-new-mexico","tag-sovereignty","tag-supreme-court","tag-teresa-leger-fernandez","tag-treaties","tag-youth","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/02\/SupremeCourt.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-1Z17","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=472881"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472881\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":473753,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472881\/revisions\/473753"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/473128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=472881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=472881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=472881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}