A major Washington D.C.–based trade organization and lobby group, which represents some of the largest airlines, hotel chains, and cruise lines in the United States, has warned that the continued suspension of Global Entry at airports across the country will “make America less secure.”
The warning came courtesy of the U.S. Travel Association, which counts the likes of American Airlines and United, as well as Carnival Cruise Line, and 1,000 other travel organizations amongst its members.
The association has been a vocal critic of Democratic and Republican lawmakers to agree on a $64 billion appropriations package for the Department of Homeland Security, which has resulted in an ongoing partial shutdown since last week.
Federal workers like TSA security officers and frontline Customs and Border Protection workers are being made to work without pay until funding can be restored.
In past shutdowns, sickness and absenteeism rates have resulted in serious resourcing constraints, although, at present, there have been no widespread reports of staffing shortages at TSA airport security checkpoints or at CBP airport immigration counters.
Nonetheless, on Sunday, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced “emergency measures” that were meant to “reserve limited funds and personnel to mitigate the national security and public safety damage.”
Those measures included suspending TSA PreCheck and Global Entry from 6:00 am ET on Sunday until further notice.
After a reported intervention from the White House, Noem quickly reinstated TSA PreCheck, but Global Entry remains suspended – a decision that has flabbergasted the U.S. Travel Association.
“Suspending this critical security program does the opposite of what the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) intends, adding volume to standard lines, stretching the very personnel the department is trying to protect and increasing security risks,” slammed U.S. Travel President and CEO Geoff Freeman on Tuesday.
According to U.S. Travel, the use of automated biometric technology like Global Entry saved CBP officers more than 300,000 hours and slashed arrival wait times by as much as 70%.
“Global Entry is far more than a convenience; it is on the front line of national security,” Freeman added.
“Its more than 13 million members undergo rigorous background checks, interviews, and vetting. Suspending it doesn’t just slow lines. It increases costs and strips away a layer of security infrastructure that took years to build.”
Stripping away Noem’s argument that Global Entry had to be suspended in order to preserve money, Freeman noted that the program is primarily funded through a $120 fee that ordinary Americans pay to use the program.
Also on Tuesday, it was reported that Noem and her close aide Corey Lewandowski devised the plan to suspend TSA PreCheck and Global Entry without first consulting the White House or getting the Trump administration’s approval.
The DHS maintains that suspending Global Entry does not “sacrifice security.”
Around 13% of all arriving international travelers use Global Entry, and there are more and more reports of long wait times at key ports of entry, including at Washington Dulles.
