[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 172 (Thursday, September 7, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42351-42353]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-18999]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
[CBP Dec. 17-11]
Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative: Designation of an Approved
Native American Tribal Card Issued by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi
Indians 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 Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians (Pokagon Band) 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 Pokagon Band members
entering the United States from contiguous territory or adjacent
islands at land and sea ports of entry.
DATES: This designation will become effective on September 7, 2017.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Colleen Manaher, Executive Director,
Planning, Program Analysis, and Evaluation, 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
[[Page 42352]]
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 WHTI-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, the Seneca Nation of
Indians, and the Hydaburg Cooperative Association of Alaska as WHTI-
compliant documents. See 77 FR 4822 (January 31, 2012), 80 FR 40076
(July 13, 2015) and 81 FR 33686 (May 27, 2016).
Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians WHTI-Compliant Tribal Card Program
The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians (Pokagon Band) has
voluntarily established a program to develop a WHTI-compliant tribal
card that denotes identity and U.S. or Canadian citizenship. On August
16, 2015, the Pokagon Band and CBP 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 Pokagon Band 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 December 9, 2015, CBP and the Pokagon
Band also entered into a Service Level Agreement that establishes the
technical specifications for the system used to produce and issue the
cards.
CBP has tested the cards developed by the Pokagon Band pursuant to
the above MOA and Service Level Agreement 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. or
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.
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\4\ The Native American Tribal Card issued by the Pokagon Band
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 section
289 provides that nothing in Title II of the INA 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 section 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 section 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 Pokagon Band in accordance with the MOA and
the Service Level Agreement 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 Pokagon Band members for the purposes of
entering the United States from contiguous territory or adjacent
islands at land and sea ports of entry.
[[Page 42353]]
Dated: September 1, 2017.
Kevin K. McAleenan,
Acting Commissioner.
[FR Doc. 2017-18999 Filed 9-6-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-14-P