At the end of January I wrote about global entry being revoked from dual citizens of countries included in the President’s travel ban.

There was some initial indication that Customs and Border Protection was revoking eligibility for trusted traveler programs from U.S. permanent residents originating in countries covered by the ban. Court orders staying the executive orders aside, CBP said they stopped doing this once it was clarified that the order didn’t apply to permanent residents, and restored ‘some’ enrollments by February.

Justin Bachman confirms this and also that individuals with Muslim-sounding surnames were ejected from the program whose citizenship did not originate from countries included in the ban — such as India, Lebanon, and Pakistan although CBP denies that’s the reason.

A CBP spokeswoman, Jennifer Gabris, said the agency restored some enrollees by early February after the administration clarified that lawful permanent residents weren’t included in the ban. Last month, federal judges also blocked a revised ban. The CBP did not respond to questions about how many people had been purged and restored to the “trusted traveler” programs.

Copyright: prestonia / 123RF Stock Photo

Nonetheless official confirmation that even citizens were having their trusted traveler status improperly revoked, and continued ‘security’ efforts which target the Mideast with no discernible benefit to security suggest that more efforts are being undertaken by the U.S. government than had been announced or previously reported broadly.