ICE agents detained indigenous actress -- then accused her of faking her tribal ID

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Raw Story

November 27, 2025 8:15PM ET


U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained indigenous actress Elaine Miles in Redmond, Washington while she was heading to the bus stop for a shopping run — then accused her of faking her tribal ID, reported The Seattle Times on Thursday.

"Miles, an Indigenous actor best known for her roles in 'Northern Exposure,' 'Smoke Signals,' 'Wyvern' and 'The Last of Us,' handed them her tribal ID from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon," said the report. "Federal government agencies recognize tribal ID as a valid form of identification, and Miles has used it to travel back and forth to Canada and Mexico without any issues."

But these agents, who were all wearing vests and masks and driving in a pair of black SUVs without front license plates, refused to accept the ID, claiming it was "fake" and that "anyone can make that." According to Miles, her son and her uncle have had similar issues, being temporarily detained by ICE agents who refused to acknowledge their tribal IDs as legitimate.

“What we’re talking about here is racial profiling,” Gabriel Galanda, a tribal rights attorney in Seattle told The Times. “People are getting pulled over or detained on the street because of the dark color of their skin.” (Galanda is not representing Miles.)

Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/ice-arrest-2674352296/

[marble falls]

1. They busted Marilyn Whirlwind!?! There will be an emergency meeting at the Brick! ...

... Seriously, when will the nation say enough???

[liberalgunwilltravel]

2. Sue

The shit out of them.

[Botany]

8. Not only sue the agents but sue ICE, Dept. of Homeland Security, and Kristi Nom on the range too.

Trump is conducting a war on people of color to “protect America” but the person they picked
up was a real Native American.

[twodogsbarking]

3. The enemy of the people didn't arrive by boat, they were already here.

White hood, mask, same thing.

[Gimpyknee]

4. Heavily armed knuckle draggers strike again.

How does ICE manage to find so many agents with no moral compass?

[GiqueCee]

5. As I am fond of saying...

... an ICE asshole has the moral compass of a rabid hyena. Being an unrepentant sociopath is a prerequisite for the job.

[IronLionZion]

6. The best and brightest of MAGA

are not very impressive

[Botany]

9. Easy you hire January 6th shits and some of the 150,000 or 250,000 bad cops that Trump had their federal ...

Last edited Fri Nov 28, 2025, 11:14 AM - Edit history (1)

… records expunged the first week in office. They were chosen because they had no moral compass
and supported Trump and racism.

[IronLionZion]

7. I liked watching her in Northern Exposure

it's on Amazon Prime if any DUers are interested.

ICE is modern day KKK.

[mdbl]

10. The ice agents are poorly trained

or maybe not trained at all. They also need to uncover their faces.

[Lonestarblue]

11. When you offer a bonus for every person deported, agents will try to deport anyone who even looks nonwhite.

The SC said that racial profiling was fine and dandy for ICE to use.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

12. Racial profiling indigenous Americans like Elaine Miles from Northern Exposure.

Link to tweet

[Iwasthere]

13. SUE FOR 1 BILLION

[LudwigPastorius]

14. "Show me your papers!"

When Trump goes, I hope he takes his ICE Nazi shitbirds with him.

[Maninacan]

15. Tribal ID

They know what a Tribal ID looks like. Just acting stupid.

[Chrysanthemum]

16. So did they release Marilyn?

The article doesn't say when/how/if ICE released Elaine Miles.

[BumRushDaShow]

17. The OP article referenced the Seattle Times, which has a hard paywall, for their reporting

But I found The Independent had a version here - Indigenous actor says ICE agents branded her tribal ID ‘fake’ during stop

and they included this -

(snip)

She presented her ID from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon, which one agent allegedly said was “fake.” “Anyone can make that,” another agent said, according to Miles.

Miles continued that the men, whom she feared might even be bounty hunters, refused to give their names or badge numbers as they detained her.

When they dismissed her tribal ID as illegitimate, she pointed to the enrollment office number printed on the back and told them to call. They didn’t. When she tried to call the office herself, the agents attempted, unsuccessfully, to take her phone.

At that point, a fifth agent whistled from one of the SUVs, and the group abruptly returned to their vehicles and drove off.

(snip)

A couple other sources just published their own articles about this within the past couple hours including The Guardian and The Hill.