Respect Tribal IDs Act

Officers trained to accept tribal IDs

This bill would require the Secretary of Homeland Security, working with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and tribes, to create training for DHS officers and employees who do immigration enforcement. The curricula would be developed not later than 180 days after enactment and must include regional contact lists and the formats of Native American tribal documents, scenario exercises, a database of tribal document examples, pre- and post-training tests, and a history of how American Indians gained U.S. citizenship and the Federal trust responsibility. The training would teach officers how to identify Native American tribal documents and to accept them as proof of United States citizenship. Officers and employees would need to finish the training at least annually, each time they move to a new region, and before performing immigration enforcement duties. The Secretary would have to report to specified House and Senate committees on the curriculum development not later than 1 year after enactment.