Respect Tribal IDs Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 8742 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8742

To require officers and employees of the Department of Homeland Security to receive training with respect to tribes, and for other purposes.

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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

May 12, 2026

Ms. Davids of Kansas (for herself, Mr. Bacon, Ms. Leger Fernandez, Mr. Schneider, Ms. Randall, and Ms. Stansbury) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

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A BILL

To require officers and employees of the Department of Homeland Security to receive training with respect to tribes, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Respect Tribal IDs Act''.

SEC. 2. DHS TRAINING STANDARDS.

Section 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1357) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``(i)(1) Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall, in collaboration with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and in consultation with Indian tribes, develop training curricula for any officer or employee of the Department of Homeland Security on-- ``(A) appropriate protocol, as developed by the Secretary, for interacting with all enrolled members of Indian Tribes; ``(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 a Native American tribal document; and ``(E) the trust responsibility of the United States Government. ``(2) The curricula developed under 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 enforcement of the immigration laws; ``(B) scenario-based exercises; ``(C) the development of a database with examples of Native American tribal documents; ``(D) pre- and post-training assessments; and ``(E) a history with respect to American Indians being granted United States citizenship and the trust responsibility of the United States Government. ``(3) Before an officer or employee may perform duties relating to enforcement of the immigration laws, such officer or employee shall be required to complete the training curricula developed under paragraph (1) not less than annually and each time the officer or employee is assigned to a new region. ``(4) Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Respect Tribal IDs Act, the Secretary shall submit a report on the development of the training curricula established under this subsection to the Committees on the Judiciary, Homeland Security, and Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committees on the Judiciary, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and Indian Affairs of the Senate. ``(5) In this subsection-- ``(A) the term `Indian tribe' has the meaning given such term in the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994; 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); ``(ii) documentary evidence issued by Federally recognized Indian Tribes, including Tribes located in a State that has an international border, which-- ``(I) identifies the Federally recognized Indian Tribe that issued the document; ``(II) identifies the individual by name; and ``(III) confirms the individual's membership, enrollment, or affiliation with the Tribe; ``(iii) other documents approved by the Secretary of Homeland Security as confirming United States citizenship; and ``(iv) documents described in subparagraph (B)(ii) include-- ``(I) a tribal enrollment card; ``(II) a certificate of degree of Indian blood; ``(III) a tribal census document; and ``(IV) a document on tribal letterhead, issued under the signature of the appropriate tribal official, that meets the requirements of subparagraph (B)(ii).''. <all>