{"id":605106,"date":"2026-02-21T05:26:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T05:26:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/605106\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T05:26:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T05:26:27","slug":"canada-warns-first-nations-people-to-carry-passport-when-crossing-u-s-border","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/605106\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada warns First Nations people to carry passport when crossing U.S. border"},"content":{"rendered":"

The federal government has updated its travel advice for the United States and is now urging First Nations<\/a> people to carry a passport in addition to a status card when crossing the border.<\/p>\n

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Before this week, the government website said First Nations people could \u201cfreely\u201d enter the United States for the purposes of employment, study, retirement, investing or immigration.<\/p>\n

As of Thursday, the website has been updated with new guidelines.<\/p>\n

The website now says First Nations people \u201cmay\u201d be able to cross the Canada-U.S. border<\/a> by land or water with their Secure Certificate of Indian Status, also known as a secure status card.<\/p>\n

The website says acceptance of all status cards is \u201centirely at the discretion of U.S. officials.\u201d Status cards and secure status cards aren\u2019t accepted travel documents for air travel, it says.<\/p>\n

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When crossing the Canada-U.S. border, travellers are strongly urged to carry a valid passport and use a valid machine-readable secure status card, the website says.<\/p>\n

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The government says that as of February 2019, all new and renewed secure status cards are issued with a machine-readable field. The government began issuing secure status cards in 2009, phasing out older laminated, paper or plastic versions of the cards.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhile you may have previously crossed the Canada-U.S. border with only a secure status card, (Indigenous Services Canada) now strongly recommends also carrying a valid passport when travelling outside of Canada,\u201d says the Government of Canada website.<\/p>\n

The government says people registered under the Indian Act entering the U.S. to live or work may also be asked to provide documentation to \u201cprove the percentage of Indian blood required under U.S. law.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Mohawk Council of Kahnawake Grand Chief Cody Diabo, who serves as the co-chair of the Jay Treaty Border Alliance and sits in the Iroquois Caucus, said Canada should not be telling First Nations how to conduct themselves at the border and should instead recognize the Jay Treaty.<\/p>\n

The Jay Treaty<\/a> \u2014 which Canada does not recognize but the United States does \u2014 allows First Nations people born in Canada to freely enter the United States for employment, study, retirement, investment and immigration.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore they tell us what we need to cross the border with, they need to recognize that we have the free right by law to cross,\u201d Diabo said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cOur cards are enough with other documents listed in section 289 of the Immigration Act and upheld by the Jay Treaty.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Assembly of First Nations has warned First Nations people to be wary of crossing the border into the United States due to U.S. immigration enforcement raids and the detention of some Indigenous people.<\/p>\n

AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak has confirmed that at least one First Nations person had a negative encounter recently with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE, and that person has since returned to Canada.<\/p>\n

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