[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 102 (Wednesday, May 27, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31796-31798]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-11378]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

[CBP Dec. 20-06]


Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative: Designation of an Approved 
Native American Tribal Card Issued by the Confederated Tribes of the 
Colville Reservation 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 Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation 
(``Colville Tribes'') 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 Colville Tribes 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 May 27, 2020.

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.

[[Page 31797]]

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). The rule 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 
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).

Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation WHTI-Compliant Native 
American Tribal Card Program

    The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (``Colville 
Tribes'') have voluntarily established a program to develop a WHTI-
compliant Native American tribal card that denotes identity and U.S. or 
Canadian citizenship. On May 21, 2013, CBP and the Colville Tribes 
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 Colville 
Tribes 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 by CBP of identity, citizenship, and tribal 
membership.\4\
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    \4\ CBP and the Colville Tribes entered into a Service Level 
Agreement (SLA) on October 3, 2016, concerning the technical 
requirements and support for the production, issuance, and 
verification of the Native American tribal cards. CBP and the 
Colville Tribes also entered into an Interconnection Security 
Agreement in February 2016, 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 Colville Tribes pursuant 
to the above MOA and related agreements, and has performed an audit of 
the tribes' 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

[[Page 31798]]

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 Colville 
Tribes 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 Colville Tribes in accordance 
with the MOA and all related agreements between the tribes 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 Colville Tribes members 
for the purposes of entering the United States from contiguous 
territory or adjacent islands at land and sea ports of entry.

    Dated: May 21, 2020.
Mark A. Morgan,
Acting Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
[FR Doc. 2020-11378 Filed 5-26-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-14-P