Editor’s note: A Homeland Security Department spokesperson emailed the following to 草莓传媒 at 10:04 a.m.: “At this time, TSA PreCheck remains operational with no change for the traveling public. As staffing constraints arise, TSA will evaluate on a case by case basis and adjust operations accordingly. Courtesy escorts, such as those for Members of Congress, have been suspended to allow officers to focus on the mission of securing America鈥檚 skies.”
DALLAS (AP) 鈥� The Department of Homeland Security said Sunday that the Global Entry program would be shut down as long as the partial government shutdown remains in effect.
The announcement comes after the department said Saturday night that it planned to shut down both Global Entry and the Transportation Security Administration’s PreCheck program as well, but DHS cancelled the PreCheck closure.
鈥� TSA will evaluate on a case-by-case basis and adjust operations accordingly,鈥� the agency said.
The turmoil at security and customs lanes is tied to a that began Feb. 14 after Democrats and the White House were unable to reach a deal on legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security. Democrats have been demanding changes to that are core to President Donald Trump鈥檚 deportation campaign.
The security disruptions come at a time where a will hit the East Coast from Sunday into Monday. Nine out of 10 flights going out of John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and Boston Logan Airport have been canceled for Monday.
Global Entry is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection program that allows pre-approved, low-risk travelers to use expedited kiosks when entering the United States from abroad. There’s no specific government data that shows how much time passengers save at airports or other ports of entry from Global Entry but travel industry experts estimate that Global Entry cuts the amount of time passengers getting through customs from an average of 30 to 90 mins for regular customs lines to 5 to 10 minutes in Global Entry lines.
Those who have Global Entry also receive TSA PreCheck. The Department of Homeland Security said in 2024 that more than 20 million Americans had TSA PreCheck, and millions of those Americans have overlapping Global Entry memberships.
Airport lines seemed largely unaffected through midday Sunday, with security check line wait times listed as under 15 minutes for most international airports, according to TSA鈥檚 mobile app.
Blair Perkins, 39, of Dallas, had seen the news about the shutdown of Global Entry before she left Cancun to return home Sunday morning to Dallas. She said after she and her friends arrived at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport that the regular line was long but moved fairly fast.
鈥淲e went around about four or five different corners to get to the end of the U.S. line,鈥� she said.
With Global Entry, it usually takes less than five minutes to get through customs. she said. Sunday, it took about 30 minutes.
Perkins said the shutdown was frustrating. 鈥淚t feels like Washington is using travelers as a pawn to try to, I guess, persuade the other side to do what they want,鈥� she said.
Homeland Security previously said it was taking 鈥渆mergency measures to preserve limited funds.鈥� Among the steps listed were 鈥渆nding Transportation Security Administration (TSA) PreCheck lanes and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Global Entry service, to refocus Department personnel on the majority of travelers.鈥�
鈥淲e are glad that DHS has decided to keep PreCheck operational and avoid a crisis of its own making,鈥� said Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association.
Before announcing the PreCheck shutdown, Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement Saturday night that 鈥渟hutdowns have serious real world consequences.鈥� Noem said she would take away courtesy escorts from members of Congress at airports during the partial government shutdown as well.
Jean Fay, 54, said she had no issues going through TSA PreCheck at the Baltimore airport for her 6 a.m. Sunday flight back home to Texas. She didn鈥檛 hear about the shutdown until she was changing planes in Austin, Texas, on her way to Dallas Love Field.
鈥淲hen I landed in Austin I started getting the alerts,鈥� she said.
Airlines for America, a trade group representing major carriers, said Saturday night that 鈥渋t鈥檚 past time for Congress to get to the table and get a deal done.鈥� It also criticized the announcement by saying it was 鈥渋ssued with extremely short notice to travelers, giving them little time to plan accordingly.鈥�
鈥淎4A is deeply concerned that TSA PreCheck and Global Entry programs are being suspended and that the traveling public will be, once again, used as a political football amid another government shutdown,鈥� the organization said.
Democrats on the House Committee on Homeland Security criticized Homeland Security handling of airport security after the initial announcement on Saturday night. They accused the administration of 鈥渒neecapping the programs that make travel smoother and secure.鈥�
Sen. Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat, said Noem鈥檚 actions are part of an administration strategy to distract from other issues and shift responsibility.
鈥淭his administration is trying to weaponize our government, trying to make things intentionally more difficult for the American people as a political leverage,鈥� he told CNN on Sunday. 鈥淎nd the American people see that.鈥�
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AP writers Ali Swenson and Ken Sweet, in New York, and Margery A. Beck, in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to this report.
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