The Department of Homeland Security said that New York residents will not be allowed to apply or re-apply for Global Entry.

The restriction is in response to a law in New York State that does not allow the Department of Motor Vehicles to share information with federal agencies that enforce immigration laws.

A representative for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state was reviewing its options.

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The Trump Administration announced late Wednesday that New York State residents will no longer be allowed to apply for or renew Global Entry, the fast-track program that lets verified travelers use automated kiosks when returning from overseas.


New York's new "Green Light Law," which took effect in December, allows people without legal immigration status to apply for drivers' licenses in New York. As part of the law, New York blocked access to DMV databases to federal agencies that enforce immigration laws.Although the law was passed in June, federal officials were reportedly caught off-guard when it took effect in December.

Acting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) director Chad Wolf said in a letter Wednesday, which was posted online by Fox News, that New York residents would no longer be allowed to register or re-apply for trusted traveler programs - or TTPs - "due to the Act's negative impact on Department operations."


Current TTP members can continue using the programs, but will be ineligible to reapply on expiration. Global Entry is valid for five years.

Trusted Traveler Programs include Global Entry, as well as several other programs including NEXUS, SENTRI, and FAST.


TSA PreCheck eligibility, which allows low-risk individuals to undergo less-invasive security screenings at airports, did not appear to be affected. In the letter, Wolf outlined several examples of the ways that Homeland Security has used New York's DMV database before, including verifying addresses of criminal suspects, and to identify suspects by using vehicle registration information.

TTP applicants are typically deemed ineligible if they have criminal records or are under investigation for a crime. However, the letter did not clarify how access to DMV information helped it vet TTP applicants as being low-risk.

Having a driver's license - and consequently, a record in a state DMV database - is not required to get Global Entry, nor other Trusted Traveler Program status. A passport and a second form of identification are required for applicants, but that second piece can be any of a few eligible types. Not every driver's license issued by New York State meets federal standards for acceptable identification.


Rich Azzopardi, an advisor for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, told CNN that the state was reviewing options.

"This is obviously political retaliation by the federal government and we're going to review our legal options," he said.

"Although DHS would prefer to continue our long-standing cooperative relationship with New York on a variety of these critical homeland security initiatives, this Act and the corresponding lack of security cooperation from the New York DMV requires DHS to take immediate action to ensure DHS's efforts to protect the Homeland are not compromised," Wolf said.


"Sanctuary" laws, which prohibit local law enforcement from referring individuals without legal immigration status to federal immigration officials, have come under fire from President Donald Trump."Tragically, there are many cities in America where radical politicians have chosen to provide sanctuary for these criminal, illegal aliens," Trump said during his State of the Union address on Tuesday. "In sanctuary cities local officials order police to release dangerous criminal aliens to prey upon the public, instead of handing them over to ICE to be safely removed."

The former acting director of ICE, John Sandweg, told CNN in an interview on Thursday that sanctuary policies have no impact on how Homeland Security vets people who apply for Global Entry.


"This is just irrational in the sense that sanctuary policies in no way shape or form affect DHS' ability to vet people for global entry and other trusted traveler programs," he said. "It's ridiculous, and it's politicizing a program that's not about politics. It's trying to match two totally unrelated things. It's the kind of thing that's going to, frankly, politicize the department in a way that's going to undermine its mission moving forward."

DHS has previously come under criticism for security flaws in the Global Entry program.

DHS did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment or clarification on how - or whether - the Department uses state DMV databases to vet Global Entry applicants, or why applicants without driver's licenses can be approved if they do not have a file with a state DMV.