Navajo Nation moves to oppose fugitive bill

FARMINGTON — A member of the Navajo Nation Council is asking fellow lawmakers to oppose a federal bill that would give federal law enforcement officials the authority to enter reservation boundaries to apprehend individuals avoiding arrest, prosecution or incarceration.

U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem, R-S.D., introduced H.R. 4864 — or the No Haven for Dangerous Fugitives Act of 2018 — in January as a way to address concerns about suspects fleeing to tribal lands to evade arrest.

Delegate Edmund Yazzie said he opposes the measure because it violates tribal sovereignty.

Noem introduced the bill after she and U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., the bill’s cosponsor, met with law enforcement representatives to talk about drug crime and challenges facing officers in South Dakota.

“Today, we have fugitives hiding in plain sight. The way the system is set up, violent criminals can use Indian Country as a haven to evade law enforcement. That policy poses a serious and concerning public safety threat to tribal communities,” Noem said in a press release from her office.

She added the legislation “closes this dangerous loophole once and for all.”

The two-page bill does not address tribes that have extradition laws, and a spokeswoman for Noem did not respond to questions on Friday.

Yazzie said in a telephone interview Friday he opposes the House bill because it violates tribal sovereignty and ignores tribal extradition procedures.

In response, he is sponsoring legislation in the tribal council that requests the Navajo Nation oppose Noem’s bill.

Yazzie serves as chairman of the council’s Law and Order Committee, and he is a former deputy for the McKinley County Sheriff ’s Office. During his law enforcement career, he said he witnessed law enforcement agencies and the district attorney in Gallup follow the tribe’s extradition process to apprehend suspects on the reservation.