The manner in which Section 289 of the INA (8 U.S.C. § 1359) is currently written causes members of federally-recognized tribes to be denied entry back into the United States if they are unable to prove they possess 50 percent blood quantum at the border. As federal law recognizes the right of Indian tribes to establish their own standards for citizenship, including methods that do not rely on blood quantum (See Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez, 436 U.S. 49 (1978)), 8 U.S.C. § 1359 is inconsistent with federal law because it relies on blood quantum as a measure of tribal affiliation, rather than proof of membership in a federally recognized tribe. We must put a stop to this institutionalized discrimination, which stems from the Termination Era when the federal government sought to end its government-to-government relationship with tribal governments.

 

Members of federally recognized tribes need Congress to enact the Tribal Border Crossing Parity Act. The Senate version can be found here. The Tribal Border Crossing Parity Act would amend 8 U.S.C. § 1359 to remove the blood quantum requirement altogether and instead recognize proof of enrollment in a federally recognized tribe when crossing the United States - Canada border. The Senate bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act would do so with respect to the right of members of a federally recognized Indian Tribe in the United States and First Nations individuals in Canada to cross the borders of the United States. 

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