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As the July 29 enforcement date for Arizona’s strict new immigration law nears, Native American tribes are charging that the law was written without considering their unique circumstance and that it will violate their sovereignty and their members’ civil rights.

Despite a request by Gov. Jan Brewer’s office to comply with the new law, Native American tribes will continue to oppose it and seek ways to avoid its implementation, said John Lewis, executive director of the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, which represents 20 tribes in the state.

“Tribes have jurisdiction within their land, and state law doesn’t apply” Lewis said. “And the law just doesn’t work in the interests of the American Indian population.”

A resolution passed by the tribal council on June 4 states that the new law would lead to disproportionate stops and detentions for tribal members, violate their sovereignty and negatively impact the tribal economy.

In their resolution, the group says long-accepted standards of tribal life would suddenly be incongruous with the new law.

Enforcement of the law would force many law officers to reach the “reasonable suspicion” of illegal status for a large portion of Native Americans, whose presence within the U.S. has never been in question, the resolution states.

The resolution points out that English has always been a second language for many tribal members. And although each tribe has different laws, members of the tribes have not been required to carry their tribal membership documents, and some don’t possess a birth certificate or proper documents at all.

Brewer’s office sent a letter May 24 to the Arizona Commission of Indian Affairs, asking the commission to cooperate with the state board that offers guidelines to law-enforcement agencies about how to enforce the new immigration law.

Tasya Peterson, a Governor’s Office spokeswoman, said Brewer’s request for cooperation by the tribes is only a request, and that the governor wants to keep was an attempt to keep a dialogue open between the tribes and the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board.

The Inter Tribal Council of Arizona plans to meet with the National Congress of American Indians next week to agree on unified opposition to the new law and explore ways to prevent its implementation on tribal lands, Lewis said.

http://azcapitoltimes.com/blog/2010/06/14/indian-tribes-oppose-new-immigration-law/

http://azcapitoltimes.com/blog/2010/06/14/indian-tribes-oppose-new-immigration-law/

Tribal Lands are in the Jurisdiction of the Tribes, and beyond that, the Federal Government. The AZ Law doesn’t deal with the Tribal Lands.
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Per this…
A resolution passed by the tribal council on June 4 states that the new law would lead to disproportionate stops and detentions for tribal members, violate their sovereignty and negatively impact the tribal economy.

In their resolution, the group says long-accepted standards of tribal life would suddenly be incongruous with the new law.
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That would be very easy to deal with in court, and while you selected the AZ Law for notoriety perhaps, the fact is, there are two state laws out there with far more serious consequences to the tribes than the AZ Law. What ever.

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