On Wednesday, acting secretary of Homeland Security stated residents of New York State may no longer participle in certain Trusted Traveler Programs, including Global Entry. This was all due to provisions in the state’s recent “Green Light Law” which supports undocumented immigrants.
What We Know:
- The “Green Light law,” which went into effect this past December, grants undocumented immigrants the ability to apply for New York driver’s licenses while simultaneously keeping applicants’ information private from immigration enforcement agencies.
- This suspension will affect programs like Global Entry, whose main purpose is to allow eligible travelers returning to the U.S. to pay a fee and submit identification documents for the benefit of reduced wait times.
- It will also effect the Trusted Traveler programs NEXUS, Sentri, and FAST. Under this new policy, New Yorkers will no longer be allowed to join these programs. For those currently in the programs, they will be promptly kicked out by the end of the year.
- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office denounced this move as an act of “political retaliation”.
- JFK airport travelers are certainly unhappy to hear about the policy change. Around twelve other states have enacted laws allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses, CBS New York reports. Up to this point, it’s unclear why New York is being singled out by the DHS.
According to a report from CNN, former ICE Director, John Sandweg, explained how these sanctuary policies will not affect how the Department of Homeland Security evaluates people for Global Entry and other Trusted Traveler Programs.
