Department of Homeland Security shuts down Global Entry while partial government shutdown remains in effect
PBS • • nation
Key Points:
- The Department of Homeland Security announced that the Global Entry program will be suspended for the duration of the partial government shutdown, while the planned shutdown of TSA PreCheck was canceled.
- The partial government shutdown began on February 14 due to a funding impasse tied to immigration policy disagreements between Democrats and the White House, affecting security and customs operations at airports.
- Global Entry, which expedites customs processing for low-risk travelers, typically reduces wait times from 30-90 minutes to 5-10 minutes, but travelers like Blair Perkins experienced significantly longer waits during the shutdown.
- The travel industry and airlines expressed frustration over the shutdown's impact on travelers, criticizing the short notice and political use of security programs as leverage in government negotiations.
- Lawmakers
