U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Thursday, U.S. Sens. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawai’i), and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) wrote a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on the high rates of Tribal prosecutorial declinations.

In their letter, the Senators asks a series of questions to better understand the reasons behind the high rates of declinations. Specifically, the letter asks about the lack of evidence in these cases and the Department’s “prioritization of federal interests” to justify a decision to decline prosecution. Their letter also seeks more information regarding coordination between the Justice Department and Bureau of Indian Affair’s Murdered and Missing Indigenous Unit.

“According to the Justice Department’s own findings, Native American women are two to three times more likely than women of any other race to experience violence, stalking or sexual assault. Yet, the Department declines to prosecute of half of these cases,” wrote the Senators. “This in turn contributes to a culture whereby offenders feel emboldened because there is no one to hold them accountable. And families of victims often feel as though law enforcement is not proving regular updates on their cases.”

Full text of the letter is available here.