DHS will no longer let New Yorkers enroll in several programs intended to expedite international travel, in response to a recently-enacted state "sanctuary" law which limits DHS's access to state driver's license records. The suspension comes a day after President Donald Trump used his State of the Union address in part to blast sanctuary cities, saying "there are many cities in America where radical politicians have chosen to provide sanctuary for these criminal illegal aliens," and suggesting that jurisdictions that block the release of information allow "dangerous criminal aliens to prey upon the public, instead of handing them over to ICE to be safely removed."
In a letter to New York state's Department of Motor Vehicles acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf wrote that because of a state law signed in June preventing DMV officials from giving information to ICE and CBP, New York residents will be prohibited from enrolling in DHS programs including Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, and FAST. The letter does not refer to TSA's PreCheck program. The first three are CBP programs which help expedite security for travelers upon arrival to the U.S., and FAST is a commercial clearance program for low-risk shipments.
The state law "compromises CBP's ability to confirm whether an individual applying for [trusted traveler] membership meets program eligibility requirements," Wolf wrote.
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