NEW YORK CITY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo directly linked the Trump administration's halt of the Global Entry "trusted traveler" program in New York to the spread of coronavirus in New York City and beyond.
Cuomo's assault Friday came after the admission Thursday by Homeland Security officials that they made false statements when it banned the program, which allows travelers to breeze through borders and airport lines.
Homeland Security officials in February blocked New Yorkers from the program, claiming that a state law — the Green Light law — stood alone among the states in blocking federal immigration officials from accessing motor vehicle records made state residents ineligible.
At the time of the ban, acting head of the Homeland Security Department Chad Wolf said, "They (New York residents) can't enroll or reenroll in these trusted traveler programs that customs and border protections offers because we no longer have access to make sure that they meet those program requirements."
New York sued over the restrictions and argued its Green Light law wasn't unique. The fight continued until Thursday when federal lawyers admitted in a filing that they gave "inaccurate" or "misleading" information in their objections to the lawsuit. Other states have similar Green Light laws, they admitted.
They also restored New Yorkers' access to the Truster Traveler Program.
"They got caught," Cuomo said Friday. "It was all politics, all the time. It was all exploitation, all the time. And they hurt this state because of it."
After @DHSGov illegally banned New Yorkers from TTP, there were huge lines at airports/border control. Those dense crowds may well have increased the spread of COVID at airports in Feb & Mar. NYS suffered significant damage & we will look at legal remedies.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) July 24, 2020
Cuomo linked the timing of the federal fight — widely seen as Trump administration retaliation against the New York law which allowed undocumented immigrants to get drivers licenses — with the virus' arrival from Europe in February and March.
New York City's first coronavirus case was confirmed March 1.
Cuomo said that happened "coincidentally" with the effects of the Trusted Traveler Program being halted.
"They were playing their political games and they backed up the lines of people waiting to get through Customs and Border Patrol in dense areas, in tight quarters, waiting on a line," he said.
Not only that, Cuomo argued that Wolf violated his oath of office. Wolf and his top deputy Ken Cuccinelli face potential criminal and civil liability, he said.
Cuomo called on Attorney General William Barr to launch an investigation. Congressional leaders like Nancy Pelosi and Jerry Nadler should as well, he said.
New York will also pursue civil damages, he said.
"There is no, no plausible way you spent six months, you filed papers, you contested a lawsuit, you inconvenienced hundreds of thousands of people and just yesterday it was revealed to you that there were other states like New York," he said.
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Trumps Global Entry Ban Fueled Coronavirus Spread In NYC: Cuomo - New York City, NY Patch
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