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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