Iroquois lacrosse team heading to NY airport, hopes passport dispute can be resolved soon

Iroquois lacrosse team hoping for ID resolution

NEW YORK — The Iroquois lacrosse team plans to head to a New York airport in the hopes that its passport dispute will be resolved in time for it to compete in the sport’s world championship tournament in England.

Team spokesman Bob Liff says the players and support staff would go to Kennedy International Airport on Tuesday afternoon. The World Lacrosse Championship starts Thursday in Manchester, England.

The Iroquois have previously traveled using passports issued by the Iroquois Confederacy. But the U.S. government says that, unlike U.S. passports, the Iroquois passports aren’t acceptable under new, stricter immigration rules. The players won’t accept U.S. government-issued documents, because they see them as an attack on their identity.

The British government, meanwhile, won’t give the players visas if they cannot guarantee they’ll be allowed to go home.

Several lawmakers have urged the State Department to find a way to allow the team to travel but the department said there had not yet been a resolution to the case.

Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said he was unsure if U.S. officials had been in touch with the team or its representatives on Tuesday. But, he said if they had it would only be “to reiterate that we stand ready to provide with U.S. passports to facilitate their travel to the U.K. for this lacrosse tournament.”

“The decision as to whether they accept that offer of assistance remains up to the team,” he told reporters.

Crowley said providing letters guaranteeing their re-admission to the United States was not an option in the case of the team. Such letters are provided usually only in the case of emergency.

“We are trying to see if there’s a way to help them,” he said. “The easiest way to accomplish what they want to accomplish is to get them a U.S. passport. We’ve been willing to do that, you know, for a number of days and we stand ready to do that today.”

Associated Press writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.