[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 103 (Friday, May 27, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33686-33688]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-12552]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
[CBP Dec. 16-08]
Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative: Designation of an Approved
Native American Tribal Card Issued by the Hydaburg Cooperative
Association of Alaska as an Acceptable Document To Denote Identity and
Citizenship for Entry in the United States at Land and Sea Ports of
Entry
AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, DHS.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces that the Commissioner of U.S. Customs
and Border Protection is designating an approved Native American Tribal
Card issued by the Hydaburg Cooperative Association of Alaska (HCA
Tribe) to U.S. and Canadian citizens as an acceptable travel document
for purposes of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. The approved
card may be used to denote identity and citizenship of HCA Tribe
members entering the
[[Page 33687]]
United States from contiguous territory or adjacent islands at land and
sea ports of entry.
DATES: This designation will become effective on May 27, 2016.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Arthur A. E. Pitts, Director, Traveler
Policies Division, Admissibility and Passenger Programs, Office of
Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, via email at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative
Section 7209 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention
Act of 2004 (IRTPA), Public Law 108-458, as amended, required the
Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary), in consultation with the
Secretary of State, to develop and implement a plan to require U.S.
citizens and individuals for whom documentation requirements have
previously been waived under section 212(d)(4)(B) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(4)(B)) to present a passport or
other document or combination of documents as the Secretary deems
sufficient to denote identity and citizenship for all travel into the
United States. See 8 U.S.C. 1185 note. On April 3, 2008, the Department
of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of State promulgated a
joint final rule, effective on June 1, 2009, that implemented the plan
known as the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) at U.S. land
and sea ports of entry. See 73 FR 18384 (the WHTI land and sea final
rule). It amended various sections of the Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR), including 8 CFR 212.0, 212.1, and 235.1. The WHTI land and sea
final rule specifies the documents that U.S. citizens and nonimmigrant
aliens from Canada, Bermuda, and Mexico are required to present when
entering the United States at land and sea ports of entry.
Under the WHTI land and sea final rule, one type of citizenship and
identity document that may be presented upon entry to the United States
at land and sea ports of entry from contiguous territory or adjacent
islands \1\ is a Native American Tribal Card that has been designated
as an acceptable document to denote identity and citizenship by the
Secretary, pursuant to section 7209 of IRTPA. Specifically, 8 CFR
235.1(e), as amended by the WHTI land and sea final rule, provides that
upon designation by the Secretary of Homeland Security of a United
States qualifying tribal entity document as an acceptable document to
denote identity and citizenship for the purposes of entering the United
States, Native Americans may be permitted to present tribal cards upon
entering or seeking admission to the United States according to the
terms of the voluntary agreement entered between the Secretary of
Homeland Security and the tribe. It provides that the Secretary of
Homeland Security will announce, by publication of a notice in the
Federal Register, documents designated under this paragraph. It further
provides that a list of the documents designated under this section
will also be made available to the public.
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\1\ Adjacent islands is defined in 8 CFR 212.0 as Bermuda and
the islands located in the Caribbean Sea, except Cuba. This
definition applies to 8 CFR 212.1 and 235.1.
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A United States qualifying tribal entity is defined as a tribe,
band, or other group of Native Americans formally recognized by the
United States Government which agrees to meet WHTI document
standards.\2\ Native American tribal cards are also referenced in 8 CFR
235.1(b) which lists the documents U.S. citizens may use to establish
identity and citizenship when entering the United States. See 8 CFR
235.1(b)(7).
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\2\ See 8 CFR 212.0. This definition applies to 8 CFR 212.1 and
235.1.
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The Secretary has delegated to the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and
Border Protection (CBP) the authority to designate certain documents as
acceptable border crossing documents for persons arriving in the United
States by land or sea from within the Western Hemisphere, including
certain United States Native American tribal cards. See DHS Delegation
Number 7105 (Revision 00), dated January 16, 2009.
Tribal Card Program
The WHTI land and sea final rule allowed U.S. federally recognized
Native American tribes to work with CBP to enter into agreements to
develop tribal ID cards that can be designated as acceptable to
establish identity and citizenship when entering the United States at
land and sea ports of entry from contiguous territory or adjacent
islands. CBP has been working with various U.S. federally recognized
Native American tribes to facilitate the development of such cards.\3\
As part of the process, CBP will enter into one or more agreements with
a U.S. federally recognized tribe that specify the requirements for
developing and issuing WHTI-compliant tribal cards, including a testing
and auditing process to ensure that the cards are produced and issued
in accordance with the terms of the agreements.
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\3\ The Native American tribal cards qualifying to be a WHTI-
compliant document for border crossing purposes are commonly
referred to as ``Enhanced Tribal Cards'' or ``ETCs.''
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After production of the cards in accordance with the specified
requirements, and successful testing and auditing by CBP of the cards
and program, the Secretary of Homeland Security or the Commissioner of
CBP may designate the tribal card as an acceptable WHTI-compliant
document for the purpose of establishing identity and citizenship when
entering the United States by land or sea from contiguous territory or
adjacent islands. Such designation will be announced by publication of
a notice in the Federal Register. More information about WHTI-compliant
documents is available at www.cbp.gov/travel.
The Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona became the first Native American
tribe to have its tribal card designated as a Western Hemisphere Travel
Initiative compliant document by the Commissioner of CBP. This
designation was announced in a notice published in the Federal Register
on June 9, 2011 (76 FR 33776). Subsequently, the Commissioner of CBP
announced the designation of the tribal cards of the Kootenai Tribe of
Idaho and the Seneca Nation of Indians as Western Hemisphere Travel
Initiative compliant documents. See 77 FR 4822 (January 31, 2012) and
80 FR 40076 (July 13, 2015).
HCA Tribe WHTI-Compliant Tribal Card Program
The HCA Tribe has voluntarily established a program to develop a
WHTI-compliant tribal card that denotes identity and U.S. or Canadian
citizenship. On May 11, 2011, CBP and the HCA Tribe signed a Memorandum
of Agreement (MOA) to develop, issue, test, and evaluate tribal cards
to be used for border crossing purposes. Pursuant to this MOA, the
cards are issued to members of the HCA Tribe who can establish
identity, tribal membership, and U.S. or Canadian citizenship. The
cards incorporate physical security features acceptable to CBP as well
as facilitative technology allowing for electronic validation of
identity, citizenship, and tribal membership by CBP. On August 27,
2014, the HCA Tribe and CBP signed an addendum to the April 1, 2010
Pascua Yaqui Tribe Service Level Agreement that provides that the
Pascua Yaqui Tribe would serve as the Information Technology
[[Page 33688]]
Coordinator and the manufacturer of the tribal cards on behalf of the
HCA Tribe.
CBP has tested the cards developed by the HCA Tribe pursuant to the
above agreements and has performed an audit of the tribe's card
program. On the basis of these tests and audit, CBP has determined that
the cards meet the requirements of section 7209 of the IRTPA and are
acceptable documents to denote identity and U.S. and Canadian
citizenship for purposes of entering the United States at land and sea
ports of entry from contiguous territory or adjacent islands.\4\ CBP's
continued acceptance of the tribal card as a WHTI-compliant document is
conditional on compliance with the MOA and all related agreements.
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\4\ The Native American Tribal Card issued by the HCA Tribe may
not, by itself, be used by Canadian citizen tribal members to
establish that they meet the requirements of section 289 of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) [8 U.S.C. 1359]. INA Sec. 289
provides that nothing in this title shall be construed to affect the
right of American Indians born in Canada to pass the borders of the
United States, but such right shall extend only to persons who
possess at least 50 per centum of blood of the American Indian race.
While the tribal card may be used to establish a card holder's
identity for purposes of INA Sec. 289, it cannot, by itself, serve
as evidence of the card holder's Canadian birth or that he or she
possesses at least 50% American Indian blood, as required by INA
Sec. 289.
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Acceptance and use of the WHTI-compliant tribal card is voluntary
for tribe members. If an individual is denied a WHTI-compliant tribal
card, he or she may still apply for a passport or other WHTI-compliant
document.
Designation
This notice announces that the Commissioner of CBP designates the
tribal card issued by the HCA Tribe in accordance with the MOA and all
related agreements between the tribe and CBP as an acceptable WHTI-
compliant document pursuant to section 7209 of the IRTPA and 8 CFR
235.1(e). In accordance with these provisions, the approved card, if
valid and lawfully obtained, may be used to denote identity and U.S. or
Canadian citizenship of HCA Tribe members for the purposes of entering
the United States from contiguous territory or adjacent islands at land
and sea ports of entry.
Dated: May 19, 2016.
R. Gil Kerlikowske,
Commissioner.
[FR Doc. 2016-12552 Filed 5-26-16; 8:45 am]
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