OAKLAND, Calif. – California Attorney General Rob Bonta has joined a bipartisan coalition of 39 state attorneys general urging Congress to pass the Tribal Warrant Fairness Act, calling it a critical step toward improving public safety and justice in Indigenous communities.
The filing stresses that the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People’s (MMIP) crisis remains a national emergency and argues that Tribal law enforcement needs stronger tools to respond to violence, disappearances, and jurisdictional gaps that fuel delays.
According to the letter, Indigenous people “are disproportionately at risk of violence, murder, and going missing,” making timely and effective access to law enforcement resources essential. The coalition argues the TWFA would help bridge existing gaps by allowing Tribal Nations to work directly with the U.S. Marshals Service when responding to missing persons and violent fugitives.
Bonta highlighted longstanding systemic failures that have burdened Tribal communities. “For too long, Tribal Nations have borne the brunt of violence, historical harms, and ongoing barriers when seeking answers, justice, and safety,” he said. He added that meaningful progress requires “structural change,” noting, “We’re at our best when we work together, when we listen, and when we co-create solutions.”
If enacted, the TWFA would authorize federal officers to assist Tribal law enforcement in locating missing children during the critical first 48 hours, which experts identify as the most decisive window in recovery efforts. The bill would also allow Tribal officers, at the request of their governments, to join the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Apprehension Task Force, improving their ability to pursue dangerous suspects across jurisdictions.
The attorneys general express strong support for the legislation’s aim to “facilitate both the search of missing children and the apprehension of dangerous fugitives,” and recommend expanding federal law to include interstate flight intended to avoid Tribal prosecution or investigative duties.
The coalition and the California attorney general maintain that the Tribal Warrant Fairness Act represents a necessary step toward improving safety and ending the long-standing inequities faced by Indigenous communities.
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This sounds like a no-brainer. But as many times as I’ve read about this, I never hear the why. Is this generally an issue from intra-tribal violence or outsiders coming in to commit the violence, or both? And why is this cooperation not happening already, as it seems there should be nothing preventing it . . . ?
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2025-11-28/missing-native-women-girls-epstein-cases
Epstein? This is tied to Epstein? Seriously??? It does say “opinion” piece.
Well, thanks for the link . . . I’ll read it.
(Dang it, that new advertising box on the left just covered up my comment as I was writing it . . . . arrrrrrrg!)
No it’s not. It’s basically saying all the attention on Epstein and here’s a much bigger and ongoing problem. This piece will probably win a Pulitzer I would guess.
Well, I won’t ever know, unless someone cares to illegally share the text with me in an email.
I really do hope I can find a way to read this without subscribing to the LA Times.
“all the attention on Epstein and here’s a much bigger and ongoing problem”
That is true of so many things that modern media obsesses on for clicks from the way info is disseminated by algorithm and the dollars are made. I pray we find our way out of this quagmire, and despite the headline sort of building on this, the headline is a good point, and a very real issue that needs addressing and I hope this bill is a step that helps.
Well, no I won’t . . . paywall. Not all of us can write off our newspaper subscriptions as a business expense.
For any interested, there is an incredible Australian drama called “Mystery Road” that deals very well with indigenous issues around the political system and crime. One season is on this very topic. It’s excellent because the topic message is given without shoving the politics in your face like so many American shows do – it plays out in the drama. I can’t recommend it enough. Probably lots of parallels to the dynamics here.
It’s kind of a mess though, because it’s a mix of movies and Tv series and the timeline is all over the place with prequels and postquels and different titles — not to mention how hard it is to stream from Australia. But if you do some research you can flush it out. Two TV seasons of Mystery Road, plus Mystery Road Origin, plus Mystery Road movie and Goldstone movie. You’ll have to figure out the timeline and which one is on sex trafficking.
I had one of those new-fangled artificial intelligence machines do the work and it got it right! It also did in 90 seconds what would have taken me 20-25 minutes. I’m thrilled, because I didn’t know Origin – Season 2 had been released. I sense a binge day coming on! ( if I can figure out how to stream it from Australia :-| )
• Mystery Road: Origin – Season 1 (TV, prequel, set in 1999)
• Mystery Road: Origin – Season 2 (TV, prequel, set in 2000)
• Mystery Road (film, first produced, set in about 2014) [back plot on the trafficking of Aboriginal teenagers]
• Mystery Road – Season 1 (TV series, set in about 2019)
• Mystery Road – Season 2 (TV series, set in about 2020)
• Goldstone (film, set in about 2021) [back plot on the trafficking of Asian women into Australia]
I do believe the first film, with the theme I was talking about earlier, is available for streaming in the US with a bit of digging. The others, not so much, at least last I looked.
I believe the text of the LA Times article can be found here:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/contributor-epstein-victims-deserve-spotlight-110000795.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAM6A7lwp78f7ItJM2rulloSziyUnM2zkOYit42UWaSowkGGocqHFQ8Gp8-KYOePvbiyOWEGy6hNNg026NI1UZ65x9Vn-_uCRQRTP03DQFFoYLB9-TshNNzXCEyE652XPnRotsBP_ooP2-6lrREis55KgfQ1_JuWihIapfMfZSBqG
Also, All episodes of Mystery Road — except MRO-2 just released in Australia — can be found on Amazon Prime Video (you don’t need to have Prime to watch, just a nominal fee)
“This piece will probably win a Pulitzer I would guess.”
It’s a short opinion piece that sites two unverifiable numbers from studies. It’s good that this very real and horrifying issue is getting any attention whatsoever, and even if these numbers are 10% of what is being reported this is still a horror. But this article doesn’t answer the questions I originally asked.
Seems like “sovereign nations” shouldn’t need assistance from foreign colonial governments.
As they say… it’s complicated
There are instances where the ‘sovereignty’ is used against the majority, benefiting exploiters and in some cases a connected few tribal members.