PROTECT Act Grants Tribal Courts New Power to Demand Digital Data and Broadens Jurisdiction Over Drug and Gun Crimes

The Protection for Reservation Occupants against Trafficking and Evasive Communications Today Act of 2025 (PROTECT Act) isn't about setting new speed limits or changing your tax bracket, but it makes significant, structural changes to how law enforcement works within Tribal lands. Essentially, this bill is a major upgrade to Tribal sovereignty, giving Tribal courts a much bigger seat at the table in federal criminal procedures.

The Digital Data Handshake: Tribal Courts Get a Seat at the Table

Section 2 of the PROTECT Act tackles the digital frontier by amending the Stored Communications Act (SCA). This is the federal law that dictates how law enforcement can force companies—like Google, Verizon, or your local internet provider—to hand over your stored emails, texts, and other customer records. Previously, warrants for this data had to come from federal or state courts of competent jurisdiction. This bill changes the definition of a "governmental entity" to explicitly include Indian Tribes and their political subdivisions, and, crucially, defines a "Tribal court" as a court with general criminal jurisdiction authorized to issue search warrants.

What this means in practice is that if a Tribal court is investigating a crime, they can now issue a warrant directly to electronic service providers for customer data (like the content of an email stored for less than 180 days). They must use the specific warrant procedures already laid out in the Tribal Law and Order Act (25 U.S.C. 1302(a)(2)). For the average person, this streamlines investigations into crimes committed on Tribal lands, but it requires providers to now manage warrants from a new layer of jurisdiction, adding complexity to their compliance departments.

Expanding the Scope of Justice: Drugs and Guns

Section 3 significantly expands the criminal jurisdiction of Tribal courts by explicitly adding new categories of offenses they can prosecute. The bill defines “controlled substance-related offenses” to cover drug trafficking, unlawful possession, and possession of paraphernalia, using the same definitions found in the federal Controlled Substances Act. It also adds “firearms offenses,” covering the use or possession of a gun during a covered crime, or possession by someone with a prior domestic violence conviction.

Before this change, the jurisdictional lines for these types of crimes could be blurry or limited. Now, if a Tribe has a law against drug trafficking, the Tribal court’s authority to prosecute that crime is clearly affirmed under federal law. This is a big deal for communities struggling with the opioid crisis or gun violence, as it gives local Tribal law enforcement and courts the ability to handle these serious cases directly, rather than waiting for state or federal intervention, which can often be slow or non-existent.

Better Opportunities for Tribal Offenders

Finally, Section 4 addresses what happens after conviction. It expands the eligibility for the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Tribal Prisoner Program. This program is designed to provide culturally appropriate rehabilitation and reentry services for Tribal members. By updating the law, the bill ensures that offenders convicted under the expanded Tribal criminal jurisdiction (Section 204 of Public Law 90-284) are now eligible for placement in this federal program. This means that individuals convicted of crimes like the newly covered drug or firearms offenses now have access to federal resources aimed at reducing recidivism and supporting their return to the community, which is a win for public safety and rehabilitation efforts.