Canadian Indian Status Cards Not Accepted At U.S. Border Crossings
First Nations Warn Of Overlooked U.S. Federal Law
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) in Canada has recently acknowledged the increased questioning and detention of members at U.S. borders after a Gwich'in man was held for hours by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and had to provide further proof of his 50% American Indian blood as the CBP dismissed his Indian Status Card. This prompted the AFN to announce in its travel advisory that a status card or a Secure Certificate of Indian Status is no longer enough at U.S. border crossings.
For years, First Nations members in Canada only needed to show their Indian Status Cards to enter the U.S. It is due to the combination of the Jay Treaty of 1794 , which allows Indigenous peoples on either side of the border to "freely pass and repass," and a U.S. Federal Law that exempts "American Indians born in Canada" from immigration restrictions. Here's a closer look at the stricter implementation of this rule.
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