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Revises the immigration definition of who counts as a “Member of a federally recognized Indian Tribe in the United States or a First Nation in Canada.” It explicitly includes (1) people who are members of, or eligible to become members of, a federally recognized U.S. Indian Tribe, and (2) people in Canada who either have Indian status under the Canadian Indian Act or are members of a self-governing First Nation in Canada. The change is a definitional clarification within existing immigration law.
Defines as qualifying: people who are members, or eligible to become members, of a federally recognized Indian Tribe in the United States.
Defines as qualifying: people who have Indian status in Canada through registration under the Indian Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. I–5).
Defines as qualifying: people who hold membership in a self-governing First Nation in Canada.
Primary impacts are on individuals and officials who apply immigration rules that reference membership in a U.S. federally recognized tribe or a Canadian First Nation. Indigenous individuals who are tribal members, those eligible for tribal membership, Canadians with Indian Act status, and members of self-governing First Nations will be more clearly identified under the statutory phrase. Federal immigration officials (USCIS, CBP, and DOJ immigration adjudicators) will apply the clarified definition when determining whether someone meets membership-based thresholds in immigration processes. Tribal governments and Indigenous communities may see reduced administrative uncertainty and fewer disputes over membership-based immigration claims. The amendment does not allocate funding or impose duties on state or local governments, and it does not alter immigration benefits directly—only who counts under the named category in existing statutory provisions.
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced July 31, 2025 by Steve Daines · Last progress July 31, 2025
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in Senate