PEORIA, AZ (AZFamily) — A Navajo man said he was detained by ICE agents in Peoria earlier this month despite providing documentation of his tribal citizenship and U.S. birth.Peter Yazzie said he was working to send money back to his family in Chinle, Arizona, when ICE agents pulled into a parking lot, zip-tied his hands and took him into custody on Jan. 12.“I do iron work, welding, and millwright work. A lot of what I do, make, financially, goes home to support my family back home. I have my kids, I have my baby niece, my mother, my livestock,” Yazzie said.Yazzie said he was parked outside a convenience store at 4:30 a.m., about to start a day’s work, when ICE agents flooded the parking lot.“That’s when they put me on the ground, and they started shouting ‘immigration control,’” Yazzie said.With his hands zip-tied, Yazzie said he told agents where they could find his Certificate of Indian Blood, birth certificate and other documents in his car.“We’ve always been told if we’re in that situation, announce who we are, provide your documents. I told them, ‘I’m native. I’m a full-blooded Native American,’” Yazzie explained.He said agents told him his IDs didn’t match the car’s registration. Yazzie said he was driving his mother’s vehicle.Before he knew it, Yazzie said they were on the way to a holding cell.“That two or three hours felt about, felt like six or eight,” Yazzie said.He said he was eventually released, and his documents were returned, but the experience left him shaken.“It was just really a lost feeling, and then behind that was a sickening feeling,” Yazzie said. “Because of how I look, I’m going to be in that situation. It kind of makes you, it makes you sick to your stomach.”Video Gallery (below): Arizona Border WatchOne week later, Yazzie is sharing his story with the hope of helping others who end up in a similar position.“Keep your documents on you at all times and keep your cool,” Yazzie warned.Navajo Nation leaders echoed that advice. They have set up a 24/7 hotline for Native Americans to call with questions about ICE or for help if they’re detained. “Make sure that you have your real ID. Make sure that you’re calm with the ICE officials. You’ll get through this. Maybe a couple hours, but we’ll get through this,” said Thomas Cody, executive director for the Navajo Division for Children and Family Services on the Navajo Nation.Yazzie said he appreciates the tribal leadership’s response.“It’s amazing to see how our leaders are standing up to defend us,” Yazzie said.Meanwhile, he is wondering what’s next for his family, hoping his children won’t have to endure what he did.“People from our tribe never believed that we would ever experience something like that just because of who we are and where we come from. But the reality is that we’re not exempt from it. This won’t be the last time,” Yazzie said.ICE did not respond to requests for comment on Yazzie’s claims.See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.Copyright 2026 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.