Politics

DHS suspends New York state access to travel programs over 'sanctuary' law: Fox

Department of Homeland Security Under Secretary Chad Wolf speaks during a meeting of the President's Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (PITF), in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, on the White House complex, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019, in Washington.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will block New York state residents from most of its "trusted traveler" programs in response to a state law that limits cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf told Fox News on Wednesday.

DHS will suspend the ability of the state's residents to enroll or re-enroll in programs such as Global Entry, which allows faster processing for pre-approved travelers entering the United States, Wolf said in a related letter to New York State officials.

The suspension will also apply to programs that allow for expedited travel to Canada and Mexico, as well as a program for commercial truck drivers.

U.S. President Donald Trump has made his immigration crackdown a focus of his 2020 re-election campaign. Trump criticized so-called "sanctuary" jurisdictions during his annual State of the Union speech on Tuesday night.

Wolf singled out a New York law that blocks the state's motor vehicles department from sharing information with immigration enforcement agencies, saying the "lack of security cooperation" from the state necessitated the suspension of the travel programs.