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Seneca Nation Urges Congress to Restore Criminal Jurisdiction in New York, Citing Drug‑Trafficking and Public Safety Concerns
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Summary
Seneca Nation leaders and congressional sponsors told the subcommittee HR 7065 would let the Seneca Nation and the attorney general nullify a 1948 grant of New York State criminal jurisdiction on Seneca lands by written agreement, a change supporters say would improve public safety and restore sovereignty.
Representative Langworthy introduced HR 7065 as a measure to allow the Seneca Nation, with written concurrence from the U.S. Attorney General, to nullify a 1948 statutory grant of New York State criminal jurisdiction and to negotiate a law‑enforcement compact with DOJ.
Jay Conrad Seneca, president of the Seneca Nation, described decades‑long consequences of the 1948 statute (section 232/public law era) and linked jurisdictional complexity to rising drug trafficking and community violence. "In 1948 Congress gave the state of New York criminal jurisdiction over the Seneca people on our lands under a law called section 2 32," Seneca said, adding that the nation has had to rely on state systems that he called "inconsistent at best and negligent at worst." He urged Congress to pass HR 7065 to restore the nation's ability to protect its people.
Representative McDowell and other members cited fentanyl and trafficking incidents and asked how jurisdictional clarity would improve interdiction and prosecutorial effectiveness. Brian Mercier, testifying for Interior, agreed that clarity is "paramount to effective law enforcement and public safety" but deferred operational judgments to the Department of Justice and noted that retrocession or compacts typically involve MOUs, deputization issues, and close state coordination.
Members and tribal leaders described recent interagency work: the Seneca Nation convened a law‑enforcement summit with federal and state partners to coordinate action and discussed ongoing efforts to improve communication and capacity. Seneca said success would be measured by improved collaboration, information‑sharing, and demonstrable reductions in trafficking-related harms, and he stressed that the bill requires written agreement with DOJ before the state's grant would be nullified.
The subcommittee requested written follow-ups and did not vote on the measure at the hearing.
