[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 13 (Friday, January 22, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6664-6665]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-01401]



[[Page 6664]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

[CBP Dec. 21-03]


Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative: Designation of an Approved 
Native American Tribal Card Issued by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation 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 Muscogee (Creek) Nation to U.S. and Canadian citizen 
tribal members 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 Muscogee (Creek) Nation 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 January 22, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Adele Fasano, 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). 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 of Homeland Security, 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 allows U.S. federally recognized 
Native American tribes to work with CBP to enter into agreements to 
develop tribal identification 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 Puyallup Tribe of Indians, 84 FR

[[Page 6665]]

67278 (December 9, 2019); the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, 84 FR 
70984 (December 26, 2019); and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville 
Reservation, 85 FR 31796 (May 27, 2020).

Muscogee (Creek) Nation WHTI-Compliant Native American Tribal Card 
Program

    The Muscogee (Creek) Nation has voluntarily established a program 
to develop a WHTI-compliant Native American tribal card that denotes 
identity and U.S. or Canadian citizenship. On March 28, 2016, CBP and 
the Muscogee (Creek) Nation 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 Muscogee (Creek) Nation 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 Muscogee (Creek) Nation entered into a Service 
Level Agreement (SLA) on April 27, 2017, concerning technical 
requirements and support for the production, issuance, and 
verification of the Native American tribal cards. CBP and the 
Muscogee (Creek) Nation also entered into an Interconnection 
Security Agreement in November 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 Muscogee (Creek) Nation 
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 Muscogee 
(Creek) Nation 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 Muscogee (Creek) Nation 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 Muscogee 
(Creek) Nation members for the purposes of entering the United States 
from contiguous territory or adjacent islands at land and sea ports of 
entry.
    The Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Commissioner Mark 
A. Morgan, having designated the Native American tribal card issued by 
the Muscogee (Creek) Nation as an acceptable WHTI-compliant document 
pursuant to section 7209 of the IRTPA and 8 CFR 235.1(e), and having 
reviewed and approved this notice, is delegating the authority to 
electronically sign this notice to Robert F. Altneu, who is the 
Director of the Regulations and Disclosure Law Division for CBP, for 
purposes of publication in the Federal Register.

    Dated: January 15, 2021.
Robert F. Altneu,
Director, Regulations & Disclosure Law Division, Regulations & Rulings, 
Office of Trade, U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
[FR Doc. 2021-01401 Filed 1-19-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-14-P