McCarran-Walter Technical Corrections Act
The McCarran-Walter Technical Corrections Act would revise the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to change who is eligible to cross into the United States under a specific provision (8 U.S.C. 1359). Rather than relying on a blood-quantum standard, the bill would allow admission for individuals who are members, or eligible to become members, of a federally recognized Indian Tribe in the United States, or who have Indian status in Canada (through registration under Canada’s Indian Act) or who are members of a self-governing First Nation in Canada. Those admitted under this new provision would be granted permanent resident status in the United States. In short, the bill updates the historical standard for Indigenous cross-border entry to focus on tribal or First Nation affiliation rather than blood quantum, and it ties admission to permanent resident status upon entry.
Key Points
- 1The bill reorganizes INA 289 by inserting a subsection (a) before the current language and eliminating the former blood-quantum criterion.
- 2It defines eligible individuals as:
- 3- (1) members or those eligible to become members of a federally recognized Indian Tribe in the United States; or
- 4- (2) individuals with Indian status in Canada (through registration under the Indian Act) or who hold membership in a self-governing First Nation in Canada.
- 5It adds subsection (b), stating that a person admitted to the United States under subsection (a) shall have the status of a person lawfully admitted for permanent residence.
- 6The bill is titled the “McCarran-Walter Technical Corrections Act” and specifically addresses cross-border rights for certain Indigenous peoples.
- 7The practical effect is a pathway for these Indigenous individuals to enter the U.S. with permanent resident status, rather than being limited by a blood-quantum standard.