Pascua Yaqui Tribe member detained overnight after being tackled by agents from unmarked van, told Tribal ID was 'invalid'
2025 · Tucson, AZ
In Arizona, federal agents detained a member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe while they were walking at night near the San Xavier District of the Tohono O'odham Nation. After an unmarked van followed them for several minutes, they started to run. The van sped up and cut them off. Agents tackled them, said they were under arrest for 'suspicious activity,' and took them to a facility where they were held for hours without food or water. When they showed a Tribal ID, driver's license, and state ID, agents dismissed the Tribal ID as invalid, said the other IDs 'seemed fake,' and called them 'an illegal.' After nearly a day in custody, agents released them. The Tribal Nation member chose to be anonymous: 'They told me not to get smart with them, told me I was an illegal, and said they could do anything they wanted to me as long as I was there.'
Sources
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