The manner in which Section 289 of the INA (8 U.S.C. § 1359) is currently written causes members of federally-recognized tribes to be denied entry back into the United States if they are unable to prove they possess 50 percent blood quantum at the border. As federal law recognizes the right of Indian tribes to establish their own standards for citizenship, including methods that do not rely on blood quantum (See Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez, 436 U.S. 49 (1978)), 8 U.S.C. § 1359 is inconsistent with federal law because it relies on blood quantum as a measure of tribal affiliation, rather than proof of membership in a federally recognized tribe. We must put a stop to this institutionalized discrimination, which stems from the Termination Era when the federal government sought to end its government-to-government relationship with tribal governments.

Federally recognized Tribes and their members are asking Congress to enact the McCarran-Walter Technical Corrections Act. The Senate version (S.2577) can be found here and the House version (H.R. 4596) can be found here. The McCarran Walter Technical Corrections Act would amend 8 U.S.C. § 1359 to remove the blood quantum requirement altogether and instead recognize (1) proof of enrollment in a federally recognized tribe, (2) Indian Status in Canada through registration under the Indian Act, or (3) proof of membership in a self-governing First Nation. ​