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WASHINGTON – Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico and other Democratic lawmakers are backing legislation that would give tribes expanded jurisdiction over non-Indians who commit drug crimes, domestic violence against children, and crimes against tribal law enforcement officers.

The Tribal Youth and Community Protection Act would allow tribes to arrest and prosecute any offender for these offenses. The bill was introduced by Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Al Franken, D-Minn.

Udall, a Democrat and former New Mexico attorney general, is a co-sponsor. The Senate Indian Affairs Committee considered Tester’s legislation Wednesday.

Currently, some criminals committing drug offenses or crimes against children on Indian lands can be arrested and prosecuted only by state or federal law enforcement officials, due in part to the varying level of authority, proximity and capacity among state, federal and tribal law enforcement. A 1978 Supreme Court decision – Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe – limited tribes’ criminal jurisdiction and diminished their ability to prosecute non-Indian offenders in Indian Country.

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In 2013, Congress passed legislation that restores the tribes’ authority to arrest and prosecute any offender for acts of domestic violence against his or her partner, but the law does not protect children and other tribal members. Tester’s bill comes on the heels of the 2013 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which allows Indian tribes to prosecute non-Indians in certain instances.

Udall said tribal governments need more authority to prosecute crimes in their own backyards.

“I think if you look at Indian Country and the incidences of these kinds of crimes, we need to be more aggressive there,” Udall told the Journal on Wednesday.

Michael Black, director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, told the Senate Indian Affairs Committee on Wednesday that the Obama administration supports Tester’s bill.

“Two separate federal task forces … concluded local control is the key for promoting public safety in Indian Country,” Black said in written testimony to the committee Wednesday. “The tribal provisions in the Violence Against Women Reauthorization of 2013 employed this principle, and since its enactment, a number of tribes are making strides in combating domestic violence. (The Tester bill) continues to move in this direction by strengthening tribes’ ability to protect their communities and prosecute non-Indian offenders.”

But Tracy Toulou, director of the Office of Tribal Justice at the U.S. Justice Department, cautioned against moving too quickly because tribes and Justice officials are still working to fine-tune elements of the 2013 law.

“At this time, the department would recommend against expanding the universe of potential tribal court criminal defendants, although we fully recognize the terrible impact of drugs on Native American communities,” Toulou said in written testimony to the committee. “For now, we believe Congress’ focus instead should be to empower tribal criminal justice systems to deal strongly and appropriately with all persons who are already subject to tribal criminal jurisdiction under (existing law).”