[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 121 (Friday, June 24, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37879-37881]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-13537]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
[CBP Dec. 22-13]
Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative: Designation of an Approved
Native American Tribal Card Issued by the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of
Texas 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 Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas to U.S. 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 Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas
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 June 24, 2022.
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, 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
[[Page 37880]]
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.\1\ The WHTI Land and Sea Final Rule specifies the documents that
U.S. citizens and nonimmigrants from Canada, Bermuda, and Mexico are
required to present when entering the United States at land and sea
ports of entry.
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\1\ Part 212 of title 8 of the Code of Federal Regulations
details the documentary requirements for nonimmigrants seeking
admission into the United States; 8 CFR 235.1 provides for the scope
of examination of all persons seeking admission into the United
States.
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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 \2\ is a Native American tribal card that has been designated
by the Secretary as an acceptable document to denote identity and
citizenship, pursuant to section 7209 of IRTPA. See 8 U.S.C. 1185 note.
Specifically, 8 CFR 235.1(e), as amended by the WHTI Land and Sea Final
Rule, provides that once the Secretary of Homeland Security designates
a U.S. qualifying tribal entity document as an acceptable document to
denote identity and citizenship for the purposes of entering the United
States, Native Americans may present such designated 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 the designation of tribal cards as
acceptable travel documents for entering the United States by
publication of a notice in the Federal Register. 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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\2\ ``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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Under 8 CFR 212.0, a U.S. 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.\3\ Native American tribal cards are also referenced in 8 CFR
235.1(b), which lists the documents that 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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\3\ This definition applies to 8 CFR 212.1 and 235.1.
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The Secretary of Homeland Security 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 U.S. 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 enter into agreements with CBP 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
works with various U.S. federally recognized Native American tribes to
facilitate the development of WHTI-compliant Native American tribal
cards.\4\ As part of the process, CBP and the Native American tribe
will enter into an agreement that specifies the requirements for
developing and issuing such cards, including a testing and auditing
process that ensures that the cards are produced and issued in
accordance with the terms of the agreement.
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\4\ 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 a tribe produces cards in accordance with the specified
requirements, and after successful testing and auditing by CBP of the
cards and program, the Secretary 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
Puyallup Tribe of Indians, 84 FR 67278 (December 9, 2019); the
Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, 84 FR 70984 (December 26, 2019); the
Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, 85 FR 31796 (May 27,
2020); and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, 86 FR 6664 (January 22, 2021).
Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas WHTI-Compliant Native American
Tribal Card Program
The Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas has voluntarily established
a program to develop a WHTI-compliant Native American tribal card that
denotes tribal identity and U.S. citizenship. On September 2, 2016, CBP
and the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas entered into a Memorandum
of Agreement (MOA) to develop, issue, test, and evaluate whether its
Native American tribal cards could be used for border crossing
purposes. Pursuant to this MOA, the cards are issued to members of the
Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas who can establish their identity,
tribal membership, and U.S. citizenship. The cards incorporate physical
security features acceptable to CBP, as well as facilitative technology
allowing for the electronic validation by CBP of the tribal members'
identity, citizenship, and tribal membership. On August 15, 2017, CBP
and the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas entered into a Service
Level Agreement that was an addendum to the April 1, 2010 Pascua Yaqui
Tribe Service Level Agreement. The addendum provides that the Pascua
Yaqui Tribe would serve as the Information Technology Coordinator and
the manufacturer of the tribal card on behalf of the Kickapoo
Traditional Tribe of Texas.\5\
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\5\ The Interconnection Service Agreement entered into by CBP
and the Pascua Yaqui Tribe on December 19, 2018, which addresses
individual and organizational security responsibilities for the
protection and handling of unclassified information, also applies
with respect to the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas Native
American tribal cards.
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CBP has tested the cards developed by the Kickapoo Traditional
Tribe of Texas pursuant to the above MOA and related agreements. It has
also 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
[[Page 37881]]
of entry from contiguous territory or adjacent islands. 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.
It is voluntary for Native American tribal members to use WHTI-
compliant tribal cards as an acceptable travel document. If a tribal
member is denied a WHTI-compliant Native American tribal card, or
otherwise chooses not to use a 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 Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of
Texas in accordance with the MOA and related agreements 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. citizenship of Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas
members for the purpose of entering the United States from contiguous
territory or adjacent islands at land and sea ports of entry.
Commissioner Chris Magnus, having reviewed and approved this
document, has delegated the authority to electronically sign this
document 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: June 21, 2022.
Robert F. Altneu,
Director, Regulations & Disclosure Law, Division, Regulations &
Rulings, Office of Trade, U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
[FR Doc. 2022-13537 Filed 6-23-22; 8:45 am]
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