General Discussion

Jacobo’s ordeal highlights the fallout of aggressive immigration enforcement for Native Americans. In January, Navajo Nation officials reported more than a dozen Indigenous people in Arizona and New Mexico had been questioned or detained by federal immigration authorities.

Nunez told the Arizona Mirror she was skeptical that the mix-up was nothing more than a misunderstanding, and that discrimination wasn’t involved at least to some degree. She noted that Jacobo had her tribal identification with her, had been fingerprinted, had her Social Security number on file and has been booked into the same jail more than once.

“I do want to say that it’s racial profiling because she’s been there before, they have a rap sheet on her — why would they make a mistake with someone that’s constantly coming in?” Nunez asked.

She added that her sister is considering further legal action and said that she’s concerned about the potential for future harm. Not everyone has a family as involved in their welfare as Jacobo does, she pointed out. Jacobo herself wasn’t informed about the detainer against her, despite it being placed on her file a week earlier, on Nov. 4.