DHS issues enahnced ID cards to 4 Native American Tribes
06 November, 2009
category: Government, NFC
As part of its Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has begun issuing RFID-enabled ID cards to four Native American tribes, including the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, the Pascua Yaqui of Arizona, the Seneca Nation of New York, and most recently the 28,000-member Tohono O’odham Nation of Arizona.
As of June 1, 2009, US border patrol officials have begun accepting only forms of ID approved under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, including passports, passport cards, enhanced driver’s licenses and border crossing cards.
The enhanced ID cards given to the four tribes satisfy this requirement and contain RFID chips that can be read from up to 20 feet away.
DHS officials are currently in talks with 25 other tribes about adopting the enhanced ID cards.
Read more here