[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 236 (Monday, December 9, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67278-67279]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-26444]
[[Page 67278]]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
[CBP Dec. 19-12]
Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative: Designation of an Approved
Native American Tribal Card Issued by the Puyallup Tribe of 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 Puyallup Tribe of Indians 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 Puyallup Tribe of Indians 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 December 9, 2019.
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 in 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.
See 8 CFR 212.1.\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\ 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 Native American 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 Native American 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 Native American 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 several other Native American tribal cards as WHTI
compliant documents. See, e.g., the Native American tribal cards of the
[[Page 67279]]
Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, 77 FR 4822 (January 31, 2012); the Seneca
Nation of Indians, 80 FR 40076 (July 13, 2015); the Hydaburg
Cooperative Association of Alaska, 81 FR 33686 (May 27, 2016); and the
Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, 82 FR 42351 (September 7, 2017).
Puyallup Tribe of Indians WHTI-Compliant Native American Tribal Card
Program
The Puyallup Tribe of Indians (Puyallup Tribe) has voluntarily
established a program to develop a WHTI-compliant Native American
tribal card that denotes identity and U.S. or Canadian citizenship. On
July 10, 2015, CBP and the Puyallup Tribe entered into 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 Puyallup 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.\4\
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\4\ In 2017, CBP and the Puyallup Tribe entered into additional
agreements related to the MOA. CBP and the Puyallup Tribe entered
into a Service Level Agreement (SLA) on May 4, 2017, concerning
technical requirements and support for the production, issuance, and
verification of the Native American Tribal Cards. CBP and the
Puyallup Tribe also entered into an Interconnection Security
Agreement on July 28, 2017, with respect to individual and
organizational security responsibilities for the protection and
handling of unclassified information.
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CBP has tested the cards developed by the Puyallup Tribe pursuant
to the above MOA and related 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 Native American tribal cards meet the
requirements of section 7209 of the IRTPA and are acceptable documents
to denote identity and citizenship for purposes of entering the United
States at land and sea ports of entry from contiguous territory or
adjacent islands.\5\ CBP's continued acceptance of the Native American
tribal cards as a WHTI-compliant document is conditional on compliance
with the MOA and related agreements.
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\5\ The Native American tribal card issued by the Puyallup 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 Native American tribal
cards is voluntary for tribe members. If an individual is denied a
WHTI-compliant Native American 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
Native American tribal card issued by the Puyallup 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 Puyallup Tribe members for
the purposes of entering the United States from contiguous territory or
adjacent islands at land and sea ports of entry.
Dated: December 2, 2019.
Mark A. Morgan,
Acting Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
[FR Doc. 2019-26444 Filed 12-6-19; 8:45 am]
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