Respect Tribal IDs Act of 2026

Ben Ray Luján

Democrat · NM · Senator

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

No cosponsors on record. Bills can pass without cosponsors — this often means the sponsor introduced the bill alone, either because it's a messaging bill, a chairman's mark, or simply early in the legislative cycle.

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

2026-05-13

Source: Congress.gov

The Department of Homeland Security would be required to train its officers and employees on topics related to Indian tribes, their sovereignty, and their legal status. This training would help DHS personnel better understand tribal governments and laws when working on issues that affect Native American communities. The bill aims to improve how federal law enforcement and immigration officials interact with tribes and tribal members.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 4516 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4516 To require officers and employees of the Department of Homeland Security to receive training with respect to Indian tribes, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 13, 2026 Mr. Lujan introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To require officers and employees of the Department of Homeland Security to receive training with respect to Indian tribes, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Respect Tribal IDs Act of 2026''. SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY TRAINING STANDARDS FOR IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL. Section 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1357) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``(i)(1) Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the Respect Tribal IDs Act of 2026, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in collaboration with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and in consultation with representatives of Indian tribes, shall develop training curricula for all immigration enforcement officers and employees of the Department of Homeland Security with respect to-- ``(A) appropriate protocol for interacting with any enrolled member of an Indian tribe; ``(B) how to identify a Native American tribal document; ``(C) accepting a Native American tribal document as proof of United States citizenship; ``(D) how to access examples of Native American tribal documents; and ``(E) the Indian trust responsibility of the United States Government. ``(2) The curricula developed pursuant to paragraph (1) shall include-- ``(A) the contact information, names, locations, and Native American tribal document formats of all Indian tribes in the region where an officer or employee will perform duties relating to the enforcement of the immigration laws; ``(B) scenario-based exercises; ``(C) the development of a database with examples of Native American tribal documents; ``(D) pre-training and post-training assessments; and ``(E) training regarding the history of the granting to American Indians of United States citizenship and the trust responsibilities of the United States Government. ``(3) An officer or employee of the Department of Homeland Security may not perform any duty relating to the enforcement of the immigration laws unless such officer or employee-- ``(A) has completed the training curricula developed pursuant to paragraph (1) with respect to the region to which such officer or employee has been assigned; and ``(B) has completed retraining on such curricula not less than annually. ``(4) Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of the Respect Tribal IDs Act of 2026, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit a report on the development and implementation of the training curricula required under this subsection to-- ``(A) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate; ``(B) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; ``(C) the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate; ``(D) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives; ``(E) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives; and ``(F) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives. ``(5) In this subsection-- ``(A) the term `Indian tribe' has the meaning given such term in section 102 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5130); and ``(B) the term `Native American tribal document' includes-- ``(i) Native American tribal cards issued pursuant to section 7209…

of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-458; 8 U.S.C. 1185 note); ``(ii) documentary evidence issued by an Indian tribe, including any Indian tribe located in a State that has an international border, which-- ``(I) identifies the Indian tribe that issued the document; ``(II) identifies the individual by name; and ``(III) confirms the individual's membership, enrollment, or affiliation with the Indian tribe; and ``(IV) includes-- ``(aa) a tribal enrollment card; ``(bb) a certificate of degree of Indian blood; ``(cc) a tribal census document; and ``(dd) a document on tribal letterhead, issued under the signature of the appropriate tribal official, that meets the requirements of subclauses (I) through (III); and ``(iii) any other document approved by the Secretary of Homeland Security as confirming United States citizenship.''. <all>

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