U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs marked National Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Awareness Day by highlighting the Ashlynne Mike AMBER Alert in Indian Country Act, which expanded AMBER Alert systems in Native American communities.
“No child – regardless of race, ethnicity, sex, or birthplace – should be outside the protection and jurisdiction of such a vital security resource. Had Indian Country been included as partners in the AMBER Alert Plans, law enforcement could have rescued Ashlynne in time, and she might still be alive today,” Biggs wrote on X.
The Ashlynne Mike AMBER Alert in Indian Country Act passed both chambers of Congress and was signed into law by President Trump on April 13, 2018. It amended the PROTECT Act to reauthorize the AMBER Alert grant program and specifically made federally recognized tribes eligible for Department of Justice grants to establish compatible child abduction warning systems on reservations, according to Congress.gov.
The Navajo Nation previously lacked integration with state and national AMBER Alert networks due to jurisdictional gaps. Following enactment of this legislation, tribal law enforcement gained access to training, technical assistance, and grant funding through the program. Implementation efforts have since coordinated alert systems between tribes and neighboring states to reduce response times in missing children cases across Arizona and other states with significant tribal populations, according to the program’s website.
The original AMBER Alert program launched in 1996 but initially excluded tribal nations from grant eligibility until addressed by the 2018 legislation, according to legislative records. Since then, over 570 federally recognized tribes have been able to participate in the national network.
Biggs represents Arizona’s Fifth Congressional District and serves on the House Judiciary and Oversight committees. He was first elected to Congress in 2016 and previously served in the Arizona Senate, where he chaired the Judiciary Committee, according to his official biography.
