RAPID CITY, S.D. – The Oglala Sioux Tribe has officially prohibited United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Border Patrol agents from entering the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Tribal President Frank Star Comes Out announced the ban via a presidential proclamation and tribal ordinance, asserting the tribe’s sovereignty and treaty rights in South Dakota.
The move comes as Ordinance No. 26-05 was enacted by the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council. The ordinance explicitly forbids federal immigration officers from operating within the reservation boundaries.
President Star Comes Out cited his authority under Article XIII, Section 1 of the Tribal Constitution.
“I, Frank Star Comes Out, pursuant to the authority vested in me as Tribal President… do hereby proclaim that all ICE and its agents and the U.S. Border Patrol and its agents are hereby banned from coming onto the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation,” the proclamation stated.
The tribal president emphasized that the ban is an exercise of the tribe’s independent authority. The proclamation warned that “any violations of our sovereignty and treaty rights will be strictly enforced.”
One Response
The Trump administration lives by a philosophy of doing whatever it wants and seeing if it can get away with it. Prior Presidents lived by a more cautious philosophy of seeking sound input and legal advice before acting. Prior administrations sometimes got out of bounds, but getting out of bounds has typically been the exception, not the rule.
It is nice to see the tribe assert its authority in this way,