4 Masked ICE Agents Detain Actress Elaine Miles Over ‘Fake’ Tribal ID

ZMG Breaking News

On Nov. 3, 2025, four individuals wearing ICE vests stopped actress Elaine Miles in Redmond, Washington, underscoring ongoing questions about recognition of tribal identification cards. Miles, a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, said agents dismissed her CTUIR ID near Bear Creek Village and briefly prevented her from leaving. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the city that week was confirmed by Redmond officials, and seven arrests occurred nearby the same day. The Department of Homeland Security disputed her account; Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Miles was not arrested and called claims about questioning her tribal ID false. Under the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, Native Americans are U.S. citizens, and federal agencies accept certain tribal IDs.

Transcript

00:004. Masked ICE Agents Detain Actress Elaine Miles Over Fake Tribal ID

00:05On a November evening in Redmond, Washington, four masked men in tactical gear exited unmarked

00:11SUVs and swiftly surrounded a woman waiting at a bus stop. Their vests, emblazoned with

00:16U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, identified them as federal agents. As the

00:21encounter unfolded, the agents focused on a single plastic card, a tribal identification

00:26issued by a federally recognized native nation. According to the woman's account, they dismissed

00:31the ID without running the verification number printed on its back, treating her as a possible

00:36undocumented immigrant despite her U.S. citizenship. The woman was later identified as Elaine Miles,

00:42a Native American actress best known for playing Marilyn Whirlwind on the 1990s television series

00:47Northern Exposure. Miles is a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian

00:53Reservation and has appeared in films including Smoke Signals and The Last of Us. Tribal identification

01:00cards are government documents issued by federally recognized tribes and are accepted by multiple

01:05federal agencies. CTU-IR represents the Umatilla, Cayuse, and Walla Walla peoples and maintains

01:12an enrollment office that verifies cardholder status. Advocates say, however, that these IDs

01:17are inconsistently recognized during immigration enforcement. On November 3, 2025, four masked

01:24individuals wearing ice vests stopped Miles near the Bear Creek Village Shopping Center. She says they

01:31questioned her, demanded ID, and prevented her from walking away before leaving without arresting her.

01:37The incident was widely described as a brief detention rather than a formal arrest. Miles says she

01:43presented her CTU-IR tribal ID, which lists the tribe's enrollment office phone number. She alleges

01:50one agent said the card looked fake, while another remarked, anyone can make that. The agents reportedly

01:56refused to verify the ID and attempted to take her phone when she tried calling the number herself.

02:01The Redmond Police Department and city officials later confirmed that ICE carried out arrests in the

02:07city that week, including seven people detained on November 3 near the same shopping area. Under the

02:13Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, Native Americans born within U.S. borders are citizens of the United

02:19States while also holding tribal citizenship. The Department of Homeland Security disputed Miles' account.

02:26Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Miles was never arrested and called claims that agents

02:31questioned her tribal ID false, stating ICE personnel are trained to recognize tribal

02:36tribal identification documents.

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