What to Know
- NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo will meet with Pres. Donald Trump on Thursday amid a dispute over access to the Global Entry program
- The federal government has barred New Yorkers from enrolling because the state restricts access to a key DMV database
- Cuomo and his administration now say they will offer limited access to the database to check program applicants
NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo will meet with President Donald Trump on Thursday to discuss the impasse over New Yorkers' access to the Global Entry program for travelers, and indicated New York will give federal officials access to a key database to restore access to the program.
A spokeswoman for Cuomo later clarified, via tweet, that the access would only be to verify applicants to the Trusted Traveler Program -- and presumably not, as some have feared, for immigration enforcement.
Earlier this week, New York officials filed a lawsuit challenging the Department of Homeland Security's move to block New York residents from Global Entry and other programs that allow travelers to avoid long security lines at airports and borders.
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The lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan charges that the federal government's ouster from so-called “trusted traveler” programs was intended to punish the state for enacting a law that lets unauthorized immigrants get drivers licenses and bars federal immigration agents from accessing state motor vehicle records.
“We will not allow the president of the United States to single out New York, to discriminate against New York, to target New York, and to coerce us, to coerce our state into changing its policies to comply with his preferred federal policies," Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, said at a news conference announcing the lawsuit. “Make no mistake, this is an attack, a full attack, a frontal attack on New York’s rights as a sovereign state."
Acting Department of Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli announced last week that New Yorkers would no longer be allowed to enroll or re-enroll in the travel programs.
Cuccinelli said it was a necessary step because New York's new law had endangered public safety by making it tougher for immigration and border agents to quickly confirm someone's identification, check for fugitive warrants or see if a person has a criminal record.
James said that information is available from other sources.
Cuomo has said that more than a dozen states have passed laws allowing people who are not legal U.S. residents to get driver's licenses. He said in a statement that President Donald Trump “and his enablers are once again taking their aim at New York's economy in a way that not only inconveniences travelers, but also creates very real security issues.”
The U.S. Department of Justice, which would defend the administration in the suit, declined to comment.
In response to tweets from reporters, aides to Cuomo were quick to clarify that his offer to Trump was tightly focused and would not permit broad immigration checks.
"This would be specific to a person who is applying for trusted traveler program ONLY — these are ppl who already go through extensive background checks and in person interviews w federal authorities," Cuomo spokeswoman Melissa DeRosa tweeted.
