Have we not mistreated the indigenous Native Americans badly enough historically? We wondered after reading the 1/19/26 article in the Arizona Daily Star, by A.D Becenti, regarding the citizenship of a Navajo resident in the Phoenix area. He was simply filling his gas tank at a QT station when approached by ICE agents. Peter Yazzie explained to the ICE agents when he was aggressively accosted, that he was a U.S. citizen and had appropriate proof, that the ICE agents ignored as they shoved him to the ground. Yazzie told them he had bills and kids, to which the agent responded, âWeâre going to get them, tooâ. While incarcerated, Yazzie worried that they might take him away and he wouldnât see his family again. He was released four hours later after they verified his information, without apology or an offer to take him to his car.
He had to prove he lived here, when his ancestors had been here for approximately 12,000 years.
Bonnie Parsons
Southeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
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