The Department of Homeland Security has barred New York residents from applying for or renewing membership in Global Entry, a ‘trusted traveler’ program that allows members to bypass long immigration and customs lines by using special kiosks.
DHS based its ban on the administration’s policies on undocumented immigrants; New York recently joined the list of states that allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driving licenses, and also denied DHS access to its databases. While the action only applies to New York, spokespeople indicated that it could be extended to other states with similar policies.
The ban also applies to a number of less-common programs, Nexus, FAST and Sentri, that mainly affect people who live near the Canadian and Mexican borders, and freight shippers. For now, TSA PreCheck is not on the line, although a department spokesperson said that could be considered in the future.
For now, New Yorkers: It’s time to grab the free Mobile Passport app, iOS or Android; it serves much the same purpose as Global Entry and requires no pre-appication.
