July 4, 2024

Dear USET/USET SPF Family,

At the request of an affected member Tribal Nation and to assist our membership in responding to this consultation we are providing the below template comments to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on its legislative proposal to amend Sec. 289 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. We support DHS's proposal to remove the 50% blood quantum requirement for American Indians born in Canada to cross the U.S.-Canada border. However, we do not support the expanded draft legislative language proposed by DHS, which would establish procedures and policies for “Canadian Indian Entrants” to obtain Lawful Permanent Resident status in the United States.

USET SPF firmly asserts that this language would create unnecessary administrative burdens and an additional layer of bureaucracy and oversight to be applied to Tribal citizens for a process that is already addressed under current law.

Several USET SPF member Tribal Nations have long contended with the restrictive “blood quantum” requirement of the INA Sec. 289, and interpretation of this language by U.S. Border Patrol agents has led to the unnecessary questioning of Tribal citizens regarding “blood quantum” documentation and the denial of crossing the U.S.-Canada border. In response, USET SPF adopted USET SPF Resolution No. 2017 SPF:001, “Urging an Amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act to Recognize Tribal Citizenship Rather than Blood Quantum for the Purposes of the Jay Treaty”, which calls for removal of the “blood quantum” requirement from the INA Sec. 289. Further, USET SPF Resolution No. 2017 SPF:001 calls upon Congress to enact a technical amendment to the INA that recognizes Tribal Nation authority to determine our own citizenship requirements and the use of federally recognized Tribal Nation citizenship identification cards for purposes of fulfilling Article 3 of the 1794 Jay Treaty to freely cross the U.S.-Canada border.

We encourage our member Tribal Nations to submit comments by July 9th to Tribal.Consultation@hq.dhs.gov to support of our affected member Tribal Nations.

For more information, please contact Brian Howard, USET SPF Senior Policy Analyst, at bhoward@usetinc.org.

April 19, 2024

Dear USET/USET SPF Family,

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a Dear Tribal Leader Letter announcing Tribal consultations to receive Tribal input on a legislative proposal to amend Sec. 289 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 USC 1359 (INA Sec. 289)). DHS is proposing amendments to INA Sec. 289 to strike the current statute’s “blood quantum” requirement and replace it with more suitable eligibility requirements. Currently, INA Sec. 289 states that nothing in 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.” The current language has proven problematic for several reasons, including Sec. 289’s so-called “blood quantum” provision is extraordinarily difficult to administer, and the statute does not speak to what specific rights and benefits individuals entering under INA Sec. 289 possess after entering the United States.

Details regarding the upcoming Tribal consultations on this issue are as follows—

• Date/Time: Monday, May 6, 2024 from 3:00pm to 4:30pm ET
• Click Here to Register

• Date/Time: Friday, May 10, 2024 from 3:00pm to 4:30pm ET
• Click Here to Register

• Date/Time: Wednesday, May 15, 2024 from 3:30pm to 5:00pm ET
• Click Here to Register

• Date/Time: Thursday, May 23, 2024 from 1:00pm to 2:30pm ET
• Click Here to Register

At USET SPF’s 2016 Annual Meeting, the USET SPF Board of Directors adopted USET SPF Resolution No. 2017 SPF:001, “Urging an Amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act to Recognize Tribal Citizenship Rather than Blood Quantum for the Purposes of the Jay Treaty.” This Resolution recognizes the right of Tribal Nations to determine our own requirements for citizenship and that the current language in INA Sec. 289 it outdated and inconsistent with modern federal Indian law. USET SPF intends to submit comments to DHS reiterating our stance in USET SPF Resolution No. 2017 SPF:001 to support amendments to INA Sec. 289 that recognizes the inherent sovereignty of Tribal Nations to establish citizenship requirements that are not founded on blood quantum requirements.

To view DHS’s proposed draft amendments to INA Sec. 289, as well as a list of Framing Questions for the consultations, please view the Dear Tribal Leader Letter. Written comments and recommendations on the proposed amendments to INA Sec. 289 are due by Tuesday, July 9, 2024 to Tribal.Consultation@hq.dhs.gov with the email subject line, “INA 289 Change.” Questions should be directed to DHS Tribal Affairs at Tribal.Affairs@hq.dhs.gov. 

For more information, please contact Brian Howard, USET SPF Senior Policy Analyst, at bhoward@usetinc.org.

Established in 2014, the USET Sovereignty Protection Fund (USET SPF) is a non-profit, inter-Tribal organization advocating on behalf of thirty-three (33) federally recognized Tribal Nations from the Northeastern Woodlands to the Everglades and across the Gulf of Mexico. USET SPF is dedicated to promoting, protecting, and advancing the inherent sovereign rights and authorities of Tribal Nations and in assisting its membership in dealing effectively with public policy issues.