[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4516 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4516
To require officers and employees of the Department of Homeland
Security to receive training with respect to Indian tribes, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 13, 2026
Mr. Lujan introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require officers and employees of the Department of Homeland
Security to receive training with respect to Indian tribes, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Respect Tribal IDs Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY TRAINING STANDARDS FOR
IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL.
Section 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1357)
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(i)(1) Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of
the Respect Tribal IDs Act of 2026, the Secretary of Homeland Security,
in collaboration with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and in consultation
with representatives of Indian tribes, shall develop training curricula
for all immigration enforcement officers and employees of the
Department of Homeland Security with respect to--
``(A) appropriate protocol for interacting with any
enrolled member of an Indian tribe;
``(B) how to identify a Native American tribal document;
``(C) accepting a Native American tribal document as proof
of United States citizenship;
``(D) how to access examples of Native American tribal
documents; and
``(E) the Indian trust responsibility of the United States
Government.
``(2) The curricula developed pursuant to paragraph (1) shall
include--
``(A) the contact information, names, locations, and Native
American tribal document formats of all Indian tribes in the
region where an officer or employee will perform duties
relating to the enforcement of the immigration laws;
``(B) scenario-based exercises;
``(C) the development of a database with examples of Native
American tribal documents;
``(D) pre-training and post-training assessments; and
``(E) training regarding the history of the granting to
American Indians of United States citizenship and the trust
responsibilities of the United States Government.
``(3) An officer or employee of the Department of Homeland Security
may not perform any duty relating to the enforcement of the immigration
laws unless such officer or employee--
``(A) has completed the training curricula developed
pursuant to paragraph (1) with respect to the region to which
such officer or employee has been assigned; and
``(B) has completed retraining on such curricula not less
than annually.
``(4) Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of the
Respect Tribal IDs Act of 2026, the Secretary of Homeland Security
shall submit a report on the development and implementation of the
training curricula required under this subsection to--
``(A) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
``(B) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate;
``(C) the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate;
``(D) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives;
``(E) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives; and
``(F) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives.
``(5) In this subsection--
``(A) the term `Indian tribe' has the meaning given such
term in section 102 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe
List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5130); and
``(B) the term `Native American tribal document' includes--
``(i) Native American tribal cards issued pursuant
to section 7209 of the Intelligence Reform and
Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-458; 8
U.S.C. 1185 note);
``(ii) documentary evidence issued by an Indian
tribe, including any Indian tribe located in a State
that has an international border, which--
``(I) identifies the Indian tribe that
issued the document;
``(II) identifies the individual by name;
and
``(III) confirms the individual's
membership, enrollment, or affiliation with the
Indian tribe; and
``(IV) includes--
``(aa) a tribal enrollment card;
``(bb) a certificate of degree of
Indian blood;
``(cc) a tribal census document;
and
``(dd) a document on tribal
letterhead, issued under the signature
of the appropriate tribal official,
that meets the requirements of
subclauses (I) through (III); and
``(iii) any other document approved by the
Secretary of Homeland Security as confirming United
States citizenship.''.
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