New Yorkers can once again enroll in the federal government’s Trusted Traveler Programs, the Department of Homeland Security announced yesterday.
The programs include Global Entry, SENTRI (Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection), NEXUS, and FAST (Free and Secure Trade). Especially useful for business and leisure travelers is a feature that allows those who have pre-registered and undergone a personal interview and background checks to bypass the regular screening lines at airports and receive expedited clearance to board their flights.
Homeland Security had banned New Yorkers from participating after the state blocked its agents from having access to the state’s motor vehicles and driver licensing databases. New York in 2019 had passed The Green Light Law that allows illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses while prohibiting the DMV from sharing information with the Homeland Security agencies Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Proponents of the law alleged that DHS wanted to go through the data on fishing expeditions to help track down immigrants and begin deportation and other proceedings.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo argued that the agencies should only have access to records pertaining to anyone applying for participation in TTP and that it really didn’t even need that since no one was accepted into the program without an in-person interview with federal officials and extensive background checks.
The state has since softened the restrictions to expressly allow for information-sharing of Department of Motor Vehicle records “as necessary for an individual seeking acceptance into a trusted traveler program, or to facilitate vehicle imports and/or exports.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James had filed suit against Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection in February.
“The Trump administration backing down and restoring Global Entry and other Trusted Traveler Programs to New Yorkers is a victory for travelers, workers, commerce, and our state”™s economy,” James said.
“This policy was political retribution, plain and simple, which is why we filed our lawsuit to stop the president from targeting and punishing New Yorkers in the first place. We will continue to defend New York”™s right to pass its own laws and will fight to protect our state”™s residents anytime they are bullied by the president because safety and fairness are not mutually exclusive under the law.”
Although reversing its stance and once again allowing New Yorkers into its programs, Homeland Security acting Secretary Chad Wolf still found The Green Light Law unacceptable.
“Local New York law continues to maintain provisions that undermine the security of the American people and purport to criminalize information sharing between law enforcement entities,” Wolf said in his announcement that the ban on New Yorkers was being ended.
“The Green Light Law ultimately undermines the efforts of law enforcement officers, criminalizing their mission to secure the nation and the American people from threats and furthering the risk to their own lives. When jurisdictions like New York fail to cooperate with federal authorities, they operate more like refuges from criminal behavior, not sanctuary havens.”
Cuomo welcomed the end of the ban and recounted a bit of the history of trying to get Homeland Security to reverse its position.
“After the Department of Homeland Security announced the ban on the Trusted Traveler Program for New York residents in February, I immediately met with President Trump at the White House to discuss what, to the extent that there were bona fide concerns, needed to be done to address the issue while still protecting the privacy of all New Yorkers. Subsequently the matter was dealt with in the state budget passed in April. I am glad that this issue has finally been resolved for all New Yorkers,” Cuomo said.
