Sponsors (7)
The bill restores a membership-based crossing pathway and affirms tribal sovereignty for eligible Indigenous people born in Canada, while creating verification burdens for border operations and leaving non-enrolled relatives excluded, shifting some eligibility disputes to tribes and Canadian authorities.
Indigenous people born in Canada who are enrolled tribal members or have Canadian Indian status can enter the U.S. based on tribal membership/status rather than blood quantum, making cross-border travel easier and restoring a rights-based pathway for eligible community members.
Affirms tribal sovereignty and aligns U.S. entry rules with Indigenous community membership practices while simplifying DHS decisions by allowing reliance on documentary proof of tribal enrollment or Canadian Indian status instead of calculating blood quantum.
People with Indigenous ancestry who lack formal tribal enrollment or Canadian Indian registration — including some relatives — will remain excluded from this pathway, shifting disputes about eligibility to tribes or Canadian authorities and potentially leaving families divided.
Border officials will need to verify tribal membership or Canadian Indian status at ports of entry, creating administrative burdens, potential delays, and a need for new training and resources for federal employees and border communities.
Expanding eligibility based on membership/status could increase cross-border traffic by eligible Indigenous persons, raising concerns about border-security resource allocation and operational impacts.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Replaces the 50% blood-quantum test for Canada-born American Indians with eligibility based on U.S. tribal membership or Canadian Indian Act/self-governing First Nation status.
Changes the rule that let American Indians born in Canada enter the United States by replacing a 50% blood-quantum test with a membership- and status-based test. Under the change, people born in Canada qualify if they are members (or eligible for membership) of a federally recognized U.S. tribe, or if they hold Indian status in Canada under the Indian Act or are members of a self-governing Canadian First Nation. The amendment removes the numeric blood-quantum threshold and bases border-crossing eligibility on tribal membership or recognized Indigenous legal status, affecting U.S. and Canadian Indigenous people born in Canada who seek to cross the U.S. border under the historic INA provision.
Official title: Amend the Immigration and Nationality Act 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.
Introduced July 31, 2025 by Steve Daines · Last progress July 31, 2025