Toronto/Ottawa (with files from AFN/APTN/Canadian Press/Associated Press) – The Assembly of First Nations is warning First Nations individuals to be wary of crossing the border into the United States in response to immigration enforcement raids and the detention of some Indigenous people.
AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak confirmed that at least one First Nations person had a negative encounter recently with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE, and that person has since returned to Canada.
Woodhouse Nepinak told The Canadian Press the AFN will not be releasing the person’s name. The case prompted the advocacy body to issue a statement warning First Nations members to make sure they have the right documentation and identification when crossing the border.
“These actions are a violation of our inherent rights and a breach of the Jay Treaty, which guarantees the free passage of First Nations peoples across the border,” Woodhouse Nepinak said.
“We call on (U.S. President Donald) Trump’s administration to fully uphold First Nations peoples’ right to cross the border without harassment or undue hindrance.
“First Nations, as the original peoples, were here on these lands in a good way. And we’ve shared in these lands, not for people to come here and tell us one way or another how to cross.”
The Jay Treaty, signed in 1794 between the U.S. and Great Britain, was meant to ensure Indigenous people could pass freely across the border.
Canada does not recognize that treaty, while the U.S. does. That means First Nations members in Canada with at least 50 per cent blood quantum can live and work in the U.S. with their First Nation status card and an accompanying letter detailing their family history. Non-Indigenous Canadians, meanwhile, are required to show their passports at border crossings and to apply for immigration through different channels.
