Alex Padilla U.S. Senator for California

Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Representative Jared Huffman (D-Calif.-02) led a bicameral letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland calling for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to place dedicated DOJ personnel in California as part of their Missing or Murdered Indigenous Women and People (MMIP) Regional Outreach Program. The DOJ recently established an MMIP Regional Outreach Program to place attorneys and coordinators in 10 states to aid in the prevention and response to MMIP, but excluded California from the list, even though the state has the largest population of Native Americans in the country and the fifth most MMIP cases.

“While we are greatly encouraged that the Department of Justice (DOJ) recently launched a MMIP Regional Outreach Program, we are disappointed that California was excluded from the list of states to receive dedicated MMIP personnel, particularly given that California has the largest population of Native Americans of any state in the nation and the fifth largest caseload of MMIP,” wrote the lawmakers. “Therefore, we ask that you place dedicated MMIP personnel in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in California, just as you have in ten other states.”

“In addition to California tribal communities being denied federal law enforcement resources as a result of PL-280, many DOJ and other federal initiatives routinely overlook California Tribes, harming their efforts to combat the MMIP crisis,” continued the lawmakers.

Federal laws and initiatives have significantly disadvantaged California Tribes in their capacity to address public safety and achieve justice for their citizens. In 1953, Congress enacted Public Law 83-280, or “PL-280,” over the unanimous objection of Tribal governments and without any meaningful tribal consultation. The law ceded criminal jurisdiction over tribal lands from the federal government to certain states, including California, without providing any additional resources to states to offset the assumption of the new jurisdiction. The lack of federal law enforcement funding for states and tribes due to of PL-280 has created a dire situation for public safety on affected tribal lands in California, causing crimes — especially those committed by non-Native individuals — to go uninvestigated and unpunished. This is particularly true when it comes to MMIP. Additionally, in 2019, former Attorney General Bill Barr announced $1.5 million to place MMIP coordinators in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in 11 states, but placed no dedicated MMIP coordinator in California.

In addition to Senator Padilla and Representative Huffman, the letter is signed by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.-11), and Representatives Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.-44), Jim Costa (D-Calif.-21), Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.-51), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.-37), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.-12), Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.-18), Doris Matsui (D-Calif.-07), Kevin Mullin (D-Calif.-15), Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.-31), Katie Porter (D-Calif.-47), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.-30), Mike Thompson (D-Calif.-04), and Norma Torres (D-Calif.-35).

Earlier this year, Senator Padilla and Representative Huffman called for the Governmental Accountability Office (GAO) to examine tribal criminal justice outcomes in PL-280 states as compared to the rest of the country and how these complex criminal justice jurisdictional challenges impact investigations and protections for MMIP — which GAO committed to study. Padilla is also leading an effort to secure $165 million in the FY 24 appropriations bill for Tribal governments in PL-280 states, which would bolster tribal capacity to combat the MMIP crisis.

Full text of letter is available here and below:

Dear Attorney General Garland:

Thank you for your continued commitment to bringing justice to the grieving communities of Missing or Murdered Indigenous Women and People (MMIP). While we are greatly encouraged that the Department of Justice (DOJ) recently launched a MMIP Regional Outreach Program, we are disappointed that California was excluded from the list of states to receive dedicated MMIP personnel, particularly given that California has the largest population of Native Americans of any state in the nation and the fifth largest caseload of MMIP. Therefore, we ask that you place dedicated MMIP personnel in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in California, just as you have in ten other states.

California Tribes are already at a disadvantage when it comes to addressing public safety and advancing justice for their citizens. In 1953, Congress enacted Public Law 83-280, often referred to as “PL-280,” over the unanimous objection of Tribal governments and without any meaningful tribal consultation. The law ceded criminal jurisdiction over tribal lands from the federal government, mandating this transfer of jurisdiction only in California and five other states. Notably, when PL-280 passed, it did not provide any additional resources to states to offset the assumption of this new jurisdiction. Further, the Bureau of Indian Affairs does not provide federal law enforcement funding to tribes in PL-280 states as they do with tribes in non-PL-280 states. As a result, PL-280 has created jurisdictional challenges that result in crimes, particularly those committed by non-Native individuals, going uninvestigated and unpunished.

In addition to California tribal communities being denied federal law enforcement resources as a result of PL-280, many DOJ and other federal initiatives routinely overlook California Tribes, harming their efforts to combat the MMIP crisis. For example, former Attorney General Barr announced in 2019 that he was launching a national strategy to address MMIP, providing $1.5 million to place MMIP coordinators in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in eleven states. However, a dedicated MMIP coordinator was not placed in California; instead, California was assigned to three different federal coordinators, splitting the state into three parts and attaching them to other regions of the country. No California Tribe or advocate has reported receiving support from these coordinators.

We, alongside California Tribal leaders and advocates, were heartened to see the Not Invisible Act Commission in Northern California in June 2023, where federal agents, commissioners, and staff from the DOJ and Department of the Interior heard testimony from traumatized survivors of MMIP over two days. Because we have such a high rate of MMIP, the Not Invisible Act Commission selected California as one of six sites in which to hold hearings. We hope the DOJ can build off of this success by placing MMIP personnel in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in California to address the significant need for additional federal resources to confront this crisis.

Thank you for your attention to this matter, and please let us know if we can be helpful in fulfilling this request.

Sincerely,

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