Efrim Renteria, et al. v. Superior Court of California, Tulare County, et al.

The Indian Child Welfare Act (25 U.S.C. §§ 1901 et seq.) (ICWA) establishes rules for “child custody proceeding[s],” id. § 1903(1), involving “Indian child[ren],” id. § 1903(4), in order to prevent the “unwarranted” “removal . . . of [Indian] children from [birth parents] by nontribal public and private agencies” and their “place[ment] in non-Indian foster and adoptive homes.” Id. § 1901(4). Accordingly, this Court held in Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, 133 S. Ct. 2552, 2562 (2013), that ICWA does not apply to cases that involve no risk that an Indian family might face “breakup.” In this case, three children were orphaned when their parents were killed in a car accident. Their mother’s relatives took the children in, whereupon the father’s relatives, who are tribal members, sought custody. The case involves no child custody proceeding, no public or private agency, no risk of “removal” of children from parents, and no risk of placement in a foster home. The orphans have no cultural or political connection with the tribe, and have never lived on tribal lands. The questions presented are:

1. Does ICWA apply as a statutory matter to a case that is not a “child custody proceeding,” does not involve removal of an Indian child from a parent, or placement in a foster or adoptive home, or any public or private agency—and, if so,

2. Is it constitutional to apply ICWA’s separate, less-protective rules to this case based solely on the race or national origin of the children or the adults?