Department of Homeland Security suspends Global Entry as the partial
government shutdown drags on
[February 23, 2026]
By JAMIE STENGLE and ALI SWENSON
DALLAS (AP) — 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.
“ As staffing constraints arise, TSA will evaluate on a case-by-case
basis and adjust operations accordingly,” the agency said.
The turmoil at security and customs lanes is tied to a partial
government shutdown 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
immigration operations that are core to President Donald Trump’s
deportation campaign.
The security disruptions come at a time where a major winter storm 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’s 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.
“We went around about four or five different corners to get to the end
of the U.S. line,” 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. “It feels like Washington is
using travelers as a pawn to try to, I guess, persuade the other side to
do what they want,” she said.
[to top of second column]
|
People walk through TSA PreCheck at Dallas Love Field on Sunday,
Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Jamie Stengle)
Homeland Security previously said it was taking “emergency measures
to preserve limited funds.” Among the steps listed were “ending
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) PreCheck lanes and
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Global Entry service, to refocus
Department personnel on the majority of travelers.”
“We are glad that DHS has decided to keep PreCheck operational and
avoid a crisis of its own making,” 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 “shutdowns have serious real
world consequences.” 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’t hear about the shutdown until she was changing
planes in Austin, Texas, on her way to Dallas Love Field.
“When I landed in Austin I started getting the alerts,” she said.
Airlines for America, a trade group representing major carriers,
said Saturday night that “it’s past time for Congress to get to the
table and get a deal done.” It also criticized the announcement by
saying it was “issued with extremely short notice to travelers,
giving them little time to plan accordingly.”
“A4A 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,” 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
“kneecapping the programs that make travel smoother and secure.”
Sen. Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat, said Noem’s actions are part
of an administration strategy to distract from other issues and
shift responsibility.
“This administration is trying to weaponize our government, trying
to make things intentionally more difficult for the American people
as a political leverage,” he told CNN on Sunday. “And the American
people see that.”
——
AP writers Ali Swenson and Ken Sweet, in New York, and Margery A.
Beck, in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to this report.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
