DHS suspends New Yorkers' access to Global Entry travel program after state enacts sanctuary law

[Mappable 37]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dhs-suspends-new-yorkers-global-entry-trusted-traveler-program/

The Department of Homeland Security is barring New Yorkers from a program that offers expedited access through airport security lines and the United States border. The Trump administration said the decision to exclude New York residents is in response to the state's new "Green Light law," which allows undocumented immigrants to obtain drivers licenses. 

"Here we have one of the targets of 9/11 walking backwards quite intentionally to bar information from DHS," Acting Director of Citizenship and Immigration Services Ken Cuccinelli told reporters on Thursday, referring to the Green Light law. "As a result of this, the DHS has decided that New York residents will no longer be allowed to participate in any of our Trusted Traveler programs."

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's office condemned the move as "political retaliation." 

The suspension affects programs like Global Entry, which allows eligible travelers to pay a fee and submit identification documents in advance in exchange for reduced wait times when returning to the U.S. from traveling abroad. In addition to Global Entry, the suspension also affects the Trusted Traveler programs NEXUS, Sentri, and FAST. Under the new policy, New Yorkers will not be allowed to join the programs and those already accepted will be kicked out by the end of the year.

In addition to air travelers, truck drivers will also be affected since many use the FAST program for easy access across the U.S.-Canada border.

He clarified that TSA PreCheck, another of the DHS' Trusted Traveler programs which allows expedited security checks for domestic travel, is "not currently on the list" of suspended programs, but added that "doesn't mean it can't be in the future."

DHS expects the policy change to affect "150,000 to 200,000 New York residents." 

According to Cuccinelli, the "most immediate impact," will be felt by the 50,000 to 80,000 New Yorkers who have begun applications for Trusted Traveler access but not yet completed the process. He also said, "75,000 New Yorkers will not be able to renew their Trusted Traveler status this year."

Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf first informed state officials of the suspension through a letter sent to New York's Department of Motor Vehicles on Wednesday, and announced the decision on Fox News.

Wolf wrote that New York's Driver's License Access and Privacy Act (Green Light law) "precludes U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from accessing and validating pertinent information contained in New York DMV records that is operationally critical in DHS' s efforts to keep our Nation secure." 

His letter continued, "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."

It is unclear how the drivers license law would undermine Global Entry security, however, since Global Entry applicants also must submit their passports and undergo rigorous background checks and in-person interviews before approval.

Governor Cuomo signed Green Light into law last year. After it went into effect in December, long lines quickly spilled out of DMV offices across the state as undocumented residents rushed to apply for licenses for the first time ever. 

Cuccinelli said the law has made New York residents and law enforcement officers less safe. 

"These are all unfortunate consequences due to the Green Light law," he said Thursday. "... We urge New York to reverse that law and reintroduce some sanity."

On Fox News Wednesday night, Wolf argued it's important for immigration agents to have access to DMV records. "ICE uses that as they build cases and they're investigating criminal networks. They're using that personal data that they get from that database to look up an individuals' date of birth, their photo, and they're using that as they build that case. They can no longer do that because of what New York did."

Governor Cuomo's office said it was looking into a legal challenge.

"This is obviously political retaliation by the federal government and we're going to review our legal options," said Cuomo's senior advisor Rich Azzopardi.

Twelve other states also have laws which authorize drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants, CBS New York reports. It is unclear why New York is being singled out by DHS.

Travelers at New York's JFK Airport told CBS New York they weren't happy to hear about the policy change.

"I think for all New Yorkers it's inconvenient … who travels a lot from plane. They have to go through all this stuff again and again. That's gonna be really bad for them," resident Raj Singh said.

"Now it means whenever I want to travel, coming back here there are gonna be long lines after travel. My flight is like 17 hours," another traveler said. "The problem is the Trump administration has been anti-immigrant."

In his letter, Wolf said that ICE uses New York DMV data "on a daily basis" to track transnational gangs, narcotics smuggling, human smuggling and trafficking" in addition to other criminal activity. 

"In New York alone, last year ICE arrested 149 child predators, identified or rescued 105 victims of exploitation and human trafficking, arrested 230 gang members, and seized 6,487 pounds of illegal narcotics, including fentanyl and opioids," he wrote. "In the vast majority of these cases, ICE relied on New York DMV records to fulfill its mission." 

DHS' announcement came a day after President Trump condemned sanctuary cities — specifically mentioning New York — during his annual State of the Union address. 

"Tragically, there are many cities in America where radical politicians have chosen to provide sanctuary for these criminal illegal aliens,"  Mr. Trump said. "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."

"A criminal alien, freed by the sanctuary city of New York, was charged with the brutal rape and murder of a 92-year-old woman," he said. "The killer had been previously arrested for assault. But under New York's sanctuary policies, he was set free. If the city had honored ICE's detainer request, his victim would still be alive today."

[Guest Lobo]

In totally unrelated news, New York announces it will still be pursuing campaign finance violations and other monetary crimes with regard to Trump if/when he leaves Federal office.  
 

yeah, imma go head and renew mine now before this shit spreads.  

[atomheartbevo 89735]

54 minutes ago, Lobo said:

totally unrelated news, New York announces it will still be pursuing campaign finance violations and other monetary crimes with regard to Trump if/when he leaves Federal office.  

This is probably why.  That and the Bloomberg ads and comments.  

[CooterBrown 18015]

In totally unrelated news, New York announces it will still be pursuing campaign finance violations and other monetary crimes with regard to Trump if/when he leaves Federal office.  
 
yeah, imma go head and renew mine now before this shit spreads.  

No worries. Our Texas leaders are sucking mushroom cock and spreading their butt cheeks for their orange god on a daily basis to stay in His good graces.

[FORTY NINE TO ZERO 2652]

So lines will be quicker?  Yay 

[formermav43 4606]

Cloak room

[TornACL 7721]

When we said we wanted small government, we didn't mean it like small and petty. 

[tx 3 putt 77150]

This is the only the beginning of trumps war on dem states 

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !! It's BS of course, but still funny as shit.

 

EDIT:  I stated clearly it's BS, but that it's still funny (which it is)...   We  joke about people dying, and experiencing other misfortunes here, and neg reps never get thrown around.  

Thin skinned is a horrible way to go thru life boys.

Edited February 7, 2020 by Onboard 2.0

[Murfdogg21 4413]

2 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

This is the only the beginning of trumps war on dem states 

I thought the beginning was reducing the tax write off for state income taxes, punishing blue states’ residents with high state income tax rates?

[softlynow 1816]

5 hours ago, TornACL said:

When we said we wanted small government, we didn't mean it like small and petty. 

You may not have . . .

5 hours ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !! It's BS of course, but still funny as shit.

 

[Armybrat 40851]

What’s next, revoking passports for the citizens of those states? Jesus

[SydneyCarton 48112]

So much for State’s Rights. Guess it is Red State’s Rights now. 
 

if a standard response to people that are unhappy in the US with the president, it’s policies, etc., is to GTFO, why aren’t states allowed to govern the same way and if a citizen doesn’t like it they can gtfo and move to another state? 

[WBT 20633]

7 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

So much for State’s Rights. Guess it is Red State’s Rights now. 
 

if a standard response to people that are unhappy in the US with the president, it’s policies, etc., is to GTFO, why aren’t states allowed to govern the same way and if a citizen doesn’t like it they can gtfo and move to another state? 

PM Honest Abe?

[Nice Guy Eddie 13515]

Since trump uses US taxpayer funds for his bribes/extortion money, could that considered personal income that he’s using for his own benefit? Seems like NY might want to tax that income.

[RPM 26326]

This has to wind up in a court battle. Question is will SCOTUS back his play? Roberts might have had enough. OK, I'm an optimist...

[Homercles 10206]

11 hours ago, Xian said:

So lines will be quicker?  Yay 

I have GE and never had to wait.  If anything this will make non-GE lines longer and many people first touch US soil in NY

[HRSchenker 2271]

Global Entry is only worth it if you don't check a bag. I don't have it and whenever I travel with a group I always get out of the terminal first because I don't pack like I'm going to shit myself three times a day.

[High Plains Drifter 11050]

16 hours ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !! It's BS of course, but still funny as shit.

 

EDIT:  I stated clearly it's BS, but that it's still funny (which it is)...   We  joke about people dying, and experiencing other misfortunes here, and neg reps never get thrown around.  

Thin skinned is a horrible way to go thru life boys.

 

Negged anyway for trying to hide "lib tears" in a bullshit excuse.

 

[atomheartbevo 89735]

13 minutes ago, HRSchenker said:

Global Entry is only worth it if you don't check a bag. I don't have it and whenever I travel with a group I always get out of the terminal first because I don't pack like I'm going to shit myself three times a day.

Might be a wise thing to do, if traveling to China in the future.  

[Bevo 13580]

I thought we weren't suppose to care if it didn't involve Texas.

[pacman 7359]

19 minutes ago, Bevo said:

I thought we weren't suppose to care if it didn't involve me.

#currentstateofaffairs

[Ghost of LL 15539]

12 hours ago, SydneyCarton said:

So much for State’s Rights. Guess it is Red State’s Rights now. 

"States' rights" is a complete buzzword that only ever refers to the states' rights to enslave, disfranchise, or oppress minority populations.  You're certainly not going to hear a Republican tout a state's right to do anything progressive.

[TwiceHorn 31510]

12 hours ago, SydneyCarton said:

So much for State’s Rights. Guess it is Red State’s Rights now. 
 

if a standard response to people that are unhappy in the US with the president, it’s policies, etc., is to GTFO, why aren’t states allowed to govern the same way and if a citizen doesn’t like it they can gtfo and move to another state? 

To be fair, this has nothing to do with "states rights," or the preferred term federalism.

The "rights" taken away are all federal in origin.

Not a defense of the action, just an observation on the frequent misuse of the term "states rights."  Which, as GoLL notes, has been abused in the name of all kinds of fuckery.

Still and all, federalism remains an extremely valid concept that should be observed more than it is.

[Pato del Muerto 52531]

11 hours ago, Homercles said:

I have GE and never had to wait.  If anything this will make non-GE lines longer and many people first touch US soil in NY

You can plan around that. There are options. 

[Huckleberry 33036]

On 2/6/2020 at 3:19 PM, Mappable said:

 

Governor Cuomo's office said it was looking into a legal challenge.

"This is obviously political retaliation by the federal government and we're going to review our legal options," said Cuomo's senior advisor Rich Azzopardi.

Twelve other states also have laws which authorize drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants, CBS New York reports. It is unclear why New York is being singled out by DHS.

 

So does this make the legal challenge pretty simple and straightforward? Or is it not as relevant as it seems like it should be?

[TwiceHorn 31510]

18 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

So does this make the legal challenge pretty simple and straightforward? Or is it not as relevant as it seems like it should be?

Don't know.  This seems to be a complex area.  The most analogous situation is tying federal funds to state compliance with some law or another, as in 55mph speed limits or the 21 year old drinking age.

Congress has a lot of freedom to condition federal funds on various state actions or inactions.  The President, not so much.

In the funding test, the withholding has to have something to do with the valid purpose of the funding (as in connection of speed limit and drinking age to highway funding).  One might think it would be similar here, though the benefit is not funding and is conferred on state residents as opposed to the state itself.  That they are treating states differently would seem to undercut that factor.

[Newdoc 3448]

Why in the hell is this not in the CR?

OP, remember that time in Ghostbusters (the good one) when the Key Master and the Gatekeeper ended up letting all the ghost out of purgatory or wherever? Yeah, you just did the Surly equivalent.

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4976]

4 hours ago, Ghost of LL said:

"States' rights" is a complete buzzword that only ever refers to the states' rights to enslave, disfranchise, or oppress minority populations.  You're certainly not going to hear a Republican tout a state's right to do anything progressive.

It may generally be a buzzword, especially when the GOP uses it, but there are plenty of more libertarian minded folks (which have pretty well abandoned the GOP at this point) who actually mean it. Five years ago, who was the state rep who introduced the most progressive pro weed bill in Texas? That would be David Simpson, the R rep from Tyler who wanted to treat marajuana the same as a tomato plant. Given it's federal status, I'm pretty sure he had a states rights argument there. But go on and keep giving yourself a tobacco smoke enema so you can blow it out of your ass. Actually, I don't entirely disagree with your sentiment, but there's something poetic about the phrase "tobacco smoke enema" so I just tossed that last sentence in there. Kinda like using the word defenestrate any chance you get.

[Nivek 16946]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !! It's BS of course, but still funny as shit.
 
EDIT:  I stated clearly it's BS, but that it's still funny (which it is)...   We  joke about people dying, and experiencing other misfortunes here, and neg reps never get thrown around.  
Thin skinned is a horrible way to go thru life boys.

Didn’t I joke about your wife not being able to hack it in the public sector and you threw a fit? You were happy to insult other people and their families citing they were all lazy morons but cried when it was turned back on yours.

[workswithseed 2112]

6 hours ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

It may generally be a buzzword, especially when the GOP uses it, but there are plenty of more libertarian minded folks (which have pretty well abandoned the GOP at this point) who actually mean it. Five years ago, who was the state rep who introduced the most progressive pro weed bill in Texas? That would be David Simpson, the R rep from Tyler who wanted to treat marajuana the same as a tomato plant. Given it's federal status, I'm pretty sure he had a states rights argument there. But go on and keep giving yourself a tobacco smoke enema so you can blow it out of your ass. Actually, I don't entirely disagree with your sentiment, but there's something poetic about the phrase "tobacco smoke enema" so I just tossed that last sentence in there. Kinda like using the word defenestrate any chance you get.

There is still libertarians in the party, but I can understand that they'd go independent till it comes down to the wire.

[PRONG HORN 3149]

17 hours ago, Newdoc said:

Why in the hell is this not in the CR?

OP, remember that time in Ghostbusters (the good one) when the Key Master and the Gatekeeper ended up letting all the ghost out of purgatory or wherever? Yeah, you just did the Surly equivalent.

[Hornius Emeritus 12474]

On 2/6/2020 at 8:09 PM, TornACL said:

When we said we wanted small government, we didn't mean it like small and petty. 

LOL. We also didn't mean a massive expansion of government when we said that we wanted small government, but we got it anyway.

[TwiceHorn 31510]

20 hours ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

It may generally be a buzzword, especially when the GOP uses it, but there are plenty of more libertarian minded folks (which have pretty well abandoned the GOP at this point) who actually mean it. Five years ago, who was the state rep who introduced the most progressive pro weed bill in Texas? That would be David Simpson, the R rep from Tyler who wanted to treat marajuana the same as a tomato plant. Given it's federal status, I'm pretty sure he had a states rights argument there. But go on and keep giving yourself a tobacco smoke enema so you can blow it out of your ass. Actually, I don't entirely disagree with your sentiment, but there's something poetic about the phrase "tobacco smoke enema" so I just tossed that last sentence in there. Kinda like using the word defenestrate any chance you get.

The real question here is not so much "states rights," but rather why in the name of God did anyone think it would be a good idea to federalize drug law, or really any criminal law without a specific federal nexus?

If the feds thought there should be uniformity in drug laws, it could have conditioned all law enforcement funds on specific drug laws, leaving it to the states.

There are so many instances where creating a federal law because of either the expedience of one law, or some notion that national uniformity is required, that have horrendous unforeseen consequences.

It's not a matter of "rights," it's a matter of the most logical and competent body to legislate and enforce a given set of laws, and deal with the consequences.