At 5:00 PM on February 5 —virtually the exact moment President Trump was being acquitted by the Senate— the Department of Homeland Security published official notice that New York residents are no longer eligible to participate in the trusted traveler programs known as Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI and FAST. The reason DHS made this bold move is because these federal programs depend on state driver’s license data.
A shocking law passed by the Democrat state legislature in New York and signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo prohibits the state motor vehicle bureau from sharing driver’s license data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE. In order to preserve the integrity of the trusted traveler programs, the Trump Administration had to take quick action.
Because New York had no problems endangering national security to score a few political correctness points, Trump ordered DHS to deny permits to about 86,000 New Yorkers with applications pending and return their $100 fee. Another 800,000 New Yorkers who are already enrolled in those programs won’t be able to renew them when their five-year permits expire.
It should come as no surprise to the state legislature of New York that Trump took this action. Driver’s license databases are the primary source of data for federal agencies to check on DUIs or other serious traffic offenses. Those are offenses that disqualify someone from becoming a trusted traveler. Trump’s new policy does not apply to the TSA and their Pre-Check program, but that could quickly change. TSA still has access to state driver’s license data.
DHS acting deputy secretary Ken Cuccinelli warned that in the future New Yorkers might be excluded from Pre-Check also. If Trump were to shut off TSA privileges for frequent New York travelers, then liberal officials would quickly back down in their defiance. No liberal cries of foul play will keep Donald Trump from doing what he has to do. He’s not a politician, after all. He’s a fighter for the Americans voted for him. Once again, our President has kept his promise to never back down in a fight for Americans. Not even his native New York stands a chance of that.
