Respect Tribal Sovereignty: Pass the Respect Tribal IDs Act

I’m writing to demand that Congress cosponsor, support, and pass the Respect Tribal IDs Act — H.R. 8742 / S. 4516. Native Americans are U.S. citizens. Tribal Nations are sovereign governments. No Native person should be harassed, delayed, questioned, or detained because ICE, CBP, or other DHS personnel fail to recognize a valid Tribal ID or do not understand Tribal citizenship. The Respect Tribal IDs Act is a commonsense, bipartisan bill that would require DHS, in coordination with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Tribal Nations, to train immigration-enforcement personnel on how to identify Tribal documents, when Tribal IDs qualify as proof of U.S. citizenship, how to interact respectfully with enrolled Tribal members, and the federal government’s trust responsibility to Tribal Nations. It would also require region-specific reference materials so officers understand the Tribal IDs used where they operate. This should not be controversial. Tribal IDs are official documents issued by sovereign Tribal Nations. The federal government has a legal and moral obligation to respect Tribal sovereignty, protect Indigenous people from wrongful detention, and stop racial profiling by immigration enforcement. I urge you to publicly support, cosponsor, and pass the Respect Tribal IDs Act immediately. Thank you.