Respect Tribal IDs Act of 2026

Section 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1357) is amended by adding at the end the following:

(1) Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the Respect Tribal IDs Act of 2026, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in collaboration with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and in consultation with representatives of Indian tribes, shall develop training curricula for all immigration enforcement officers and employees of the Department of Homeland Security with respect to—

(A) appropriate protocol for interacting with any enrolled member of an Indian tribe;

(B) how to identify a Native American tribal document;

(C) accepting a Native American tribal document as proof of United States citizenship;

(D) how to access examples of Native American tribal documents; and

(E) the Indian trust responsibility of the United States Government.

(2) The curricula developed pursuant to paragraph (1) shall include—

(A) the contact information, names, locations, and Native American tribal document formats of all Indian tribes in the region where an officer or employee will perform duties relating to the enforcement of the immigration laws;

(B) scenario-based exercises;

(C) the development of a database with examples of Native American tribal documents;

(D) pre-training and post-training assessments; and

(E) training regarding the history of the granting to American Indians of United States citizenship and the trust responsibilities of the United States Government.

(3) An officer or employee of the Department of Homeland Security may not perform any duty relating to the enforcement of the immigration laws unless such officer or employee—

(A) has completed the training curricula developed pursuant to paragraph (1) with respect to the region to which such officer or employee has been assigned; and

(B) has completed retraining on such curricula not less than annually.

(4) Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of the Respect Tribal IDs Act of 2026, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit a report on the development and implementation of the training curricula required under this subsection to—

(A) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;

(B) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate;

(C) the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate;

(D) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives;

(E) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives; and

(F) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives.

(5) In this subsection—

(A) the term Indian tribe has the meaning given such term in section 102 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5130); and

(B) the term Native American tribal document includes—

(i) Native American tribal cards issued pursuant to section 7209 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (Public Law 108–458; 8 U.S.C. 1185 note);

(ii) documentary evidence issued by an Indian tribe, including any Indian tribe located in a State that has an international border, which—

(I) identifies the Indian tribe that issued the document;

(II) identifies the individual by name; and

(III) confirms the individual's membership, enrollment, or affiliation with the Indian tribe; and

(IV) includes—

(aa) a tribal enrollment card;

(bb) a certificate of degree of Indian blood;

(cc) a tribal census document; and

(dd) a document on tribal letterhead, issued under the signature of the appropriate tribal official, that meets the requirements of subclauses (I) through (III); and

(iii) any other document approved by the Secretary of Homeland Security as confirming United States citizenship.

The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect on the date that is 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.