Peter Yazzie
PHOENIX – Indigenous members of the Arizona House Democratic Caucus spoke out today against the unlawful detention by ICE agents of Peter Yazzie, a Navajo man who was on his way to work in Peoria earlier this week. Yazzie was carrying his Tribal identification and birth certificate but was detained anyway, according to media reports and a viral TikTok video he shared. The following statement was released by Representatives Brian Garcia, a member of the Pasqua Yaqui Tribe, and Myron Tsosie and Mae Peshlakai, who are members of the Navajo Nation.
“ICE agents continue to show a complete disregard for the rule of law and have absolutely no justifiable reason to go after Indigenous Tribal members. In case they need a history lesson, Tribal members are United States citizens. Peter Yazzie should never have been approached, but he was. He was carrying his Tribal Identification and his birth certificate and should have been immediately released — with an apology — but he wasn’t. Instead, heavily armed masked agents manhandled him, detained him, and accused him of lying and theft. The policy of Republican-supported ICE terrorizing communities is making everyone less safe. Instead of focusing on an Arizona we can afford, they’re focused on violating the law, violating basic rights and human dignity, and trying to stoke civil unrest. It has to stop.”
