There are many innovations that have made the air travel experience in the United States easier over the years, including Trusted Traveler Programs, like Global Entry and TSA PreCheck. Global Entry is awesome, because it expedites the immigration process.
Once enrolled, Global Entry is a privilege and not a right, so it can be revoked at the will of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), even before its expiration. Along those lines, it’s interesting to note some data on how the number of people having this perk revoked has increased sharply, as flagged by View from the Wing.
In this post:
Global Entry revocations have increased 144% since 2020
Bloomberg has some fascinating data on how the number of people having their Global Entry membership revoked is increasing at a rapid pace in recent years. Per a public records request, CBP revoked 17,291 Global Entry memberships in 2024, a 47% increase compared to the year prior, and a 144% increase compared to 2020.
For what it’s worth, over that same time period, the percentage of enrollments in Global Entry “only” increased by 83%. While the story makes the claim that Global Entry revocations are outpacing membership growth, it’s of course important to understand the nuance there — that’s as a percentage, rather than in absolute terms. 17,000 revocations among 13 million members is still a tiny percentage.
Part of the issue is that there’s often not much transparency as to why people have Global Entry revoked, and the government only provides vague reasons, if any explanation is provided at all. Many people just find out about their Global Entry revocation by getting an email about their Trusted Traveler Program status having changed, and then they log-in to find that they’re no longer enrolled in Global Entry.
You could have Global Entry revoked for a variety of obvious reasons, ranging from bringing a gun to a TSA checkpoint (one would hope, but it’s a common thing!), to a general criminal conviction, to failing to declare items while going through immigration.
It’s called a “trusted” traveler program for a reason, and if you lose the government’s trust, obviously your privileges could be limited. But there are also all kinds of reasons for revocation that are less clear, which could be due to travel history, or even being shipped a package that’s believed to be counterfeit. Of course some CBP officers may also be on a power trip, and they also have the power to revoke Global Entry.
39% of Global Entry revocation appeals are successful
One positive thing is that you can appeal the revocation of your Global Entry membership, and people (surprisingly?) have very good luck with this. According to the data, between 2020 and 2023, 39% of appeals to the ombudsman regarding denial or revocation of Global Entry membership were reversed. That’s a high percentage, and it clearly shows how there’s a bit of a grey area when it comes to the reasons for denials.
While I’ve never lost Global Entry, several years back I wrote about how I consistently got “SSSS” on my boarding passes for quite some time, meaning I wasn’t eligible for TSA PreCheck, and always got secondary searches at US airports. This was seemingly due to my travel patterns, and I was happy that I managed to appeal that pretty efficiently.
I know a lot of people probably assume that an increasing number of revocations are politically motivated, given talk of more searching of phones at borders. However, I don’t think that’s what’s happening here. The increase in revocations has been pretty consistent year after year, and it really increased significantly in 2024 and 2025, so that covers two administrations.
My best theory is simply that I think “trusted” travelers have become a little bit less trustworthy. Hear me out. When these programs started, only hardcore travelers got Global Entry, and those were probably people who fully understand rules when passing through immigration, and took them seriously.
In the meantime, 13 million people have Global Entry, including much more casual travelers, who may not travel as much. As you increase the ranks of Global Entry members, I suspect there’s also an increase in the crowd of people who don’t realize what they’re agreeing to, and what their obligations are. “What, I have to declare the jamón ibérico I’m bringing back from Spain in my suitcase?” At least that’s my best theory.
Bottom line
An increasing number of travelers are having their Global Entry membership revoked, often without a clear explanation given. Over the past five years, there has been a 144% increase in the number of revocations, while there has “only” been an 83% increase in memberships.
Ultimately we’re talking about tens of thousands of memberships being revoked, which is a tiny fraction of the over 10 million members. But still, it’s a trend, and I’m curious to see how this evolves in the coming years.
What do you make of the increasing number of Global Entry revocations?
Although true in practice, I loathe how that is the case in the United States, supposedly a non-fascist country.
I mean, this is the new face of our government: https://x.com/DHSgov/status/1989402784316493957
Not surprising that whatever 14 year old mentality is in charge of our official communications channels would also take an immature and nontransparent approach to canceling GE/TSA Precheck membership.
Not quite at "New Yorkers can no longer enroll for Global Entry" levels in 2020 (remember that one?), but something to monitor I suppose.
Are you saying that we're observing people losing their status (and notified by email or mail) without any recent travel activity having occurred? Or having it revoked because they just had some flight and entry activity and were flagged?
I.e. is CBP doing data sweeps and finding people who no longer meet the risk criteria? Or some physical border-related travel activity triggers it?
Your explanation that Global Entry used to be for hardcore travelers makes sense to me. I do think we had a bit of a golden age going on 5-10 years ago where you kind've had to be in the know to utilize these enhanced travel experiences, and therefore more than likely knew how to behave.
I selfishly wish they'd restrict TSA precheck and Global Entry to those who've earned penultimate or top tier status with any airline at some point in their life.
@Super
Huh? Say whaaaat? How does this make any sense to you?
"I selfishly wish they'd restrict TSA precheck and Global Entry to those who've earned penultimate or top tier status with any airline at some point in their life."
As usual stupid comments out of ignorance. No one knows why these were revoked and if it was justified. So maybe stop making moronic comments that it must be people of color before the facts are revealed.
I recommend anyone declaring something at customs get documentation if possible after being cleared. My wife and I traveled to Amsterdam last year and brought tulip bulbs back (the allowed ones). After declaring them and being sent to the special desk to have them checked, we were sent on our way back towards baggage claim. It surprised me even at the time we weren't given anything saying we were cleared.
While standing near the...
I recommend anyone declaring something at customs get documentation if possible after being cleared. My wife and I traveled to Amsterdam last year and brought tulip bulbs back (the allowed ones). After declaring them and being sent to the special desk to have them checked, we were sent on our way back towards baggage claim. It surprised me even at the time we weren't given anything saying we were cleared.
While standing near the restrooms waiting on my wife, a TSA dog sniffed at my bags and the agent asked to check them. When she found the bulbs, I told her we declared them but she did not believe me. I had seen her and the dog near our desk while having our items checked, and I repeated back to her part of a conversation I overheard her having with someone, which convinced her as I would have only known that had I been in the area I was claiming.
I really really really don't like this story.
In my observation, the CBP screening of GE travelers has also increased, i.e. from effectively nonexistent to asking lots of questions - so it's possible a lot of folks just waltzed through with prohibited items (knowingly or unknowingly), or got feisty when they asked if they had any biltong.
One thing I never quite understood about Global Entry is how we're supposed to make a declaration (e.g., if you're bringing food in or a dutiable item). First they got rid of the paper forms, and now at the kiosk you just look at the camera and get waved through by the officer in charge of the GE kiosks. Are you supposed to tell that officer "I have some food with me?" Or the one...
One thing I never quite understood about Global Entry is how we're supposed to make a declaration (e.g., if you're bringing food in or a dutiable item). First they got rid of the paper forms, and now at the kiosk you just look at the camera and get waved through by the officer in charge of the GE kiosks. Are you supposed to tell that officer "I have some food with me?" Or the one at customs, where they pretty much wave everyone through in a stampede unless they're choosing people to question?
The reason this is an issue is that you're supposed to declare food even if you know it's allowed in (such as chocolate). I once got yelled at by a customs officer for not checking the "food" box on the paper form way back when they had them, even though all the food in my bag was allowed (and I knew it was). So what's the GE equivalent of checking the box?
The correct procedure is to address it to the officer you would otherwise walk past, and/or to the customs officer before you exit the arrivals area. CBP does not care if this slows down the line.
@Snic @ Jim - I recently travelled to Mongolia and brought back an obscene amount of Cashmere, well over the $800 per person duty free limit. I used the Global Entry app to fill out the customs form in advance and said I had something to declare. When I arrived in HNL I got scanned by the kiosk and when i went to the Immigration officer he stopped me and said to wait while he...
@Snic @ Jim - I recently travelled to Mongolia and brought back an obscene amount of Cashmere, well over the $800 per person duty free limit. I used the Global Entry app to fill out the customs form in advance and said I had something to declare. When I arrived in HNL I got scanned by the kiosk and when i went to the Immigration officer he stopped me and said to wait while he call a CBP officer as I had something to declare.
So the easiest way to declare something is to use the Global Entry app on your phone.
What percentage of those revoked are Democrats versus Republicans? I assume bad faith until proven otherwise with this regime.
100%. Probably most all people of
Color too.
Not sure I agree. Nearly all my friends, like me, are Canadian residents with NEXUS, which automatically includes Global Entry membership. Not one has had it revoked. I'd expect us to be a target if this were a White House thing. I like Ben's theory better.
It happen in 2024 so most likely white men who supported Trump.
Despite one mention of 2025 in the post, all the data given is through 2024 only, so it’s all during the Biden administration. We’ll have to wait to see this year’s numbers.
A lot of overseas travellers applied knowing full well they only travel a few times per year, not sure if the policy was ever policed but you had to do a minimum of 4 trips per 12 month period, infact it was in the small print of the T&C’s when the programme first launched. Would be interesting to see if a lot of these were applying but with little to know activity.
Huh, that would be annoying if they started enforcing that...
Between the travel rebound post-COVID, nearly every premium credit card offers Global Entry credit, and travel influencers talking GE like some sort of trick, GE applications surged. Based on what I've observed on various travel forums online, a ton of these new GE members doesn't really have a clue that GE has very strict rules that needs to be followed and can be taken away, and they treat it more as a right instead of...
Between the travel rebound post-COVID, nearly every premium credit card offers Global Entry credit, and travel influencers talking GE like some sort of trick, GE applications surged. Based on what I've observed on various travel forums online, a ton of these new GE members doesn't really have a clue that GE has very strict rules that needs to be followed and can be taken away, and they treat it more as a right instead of privilege. I read a ton of post on various social media where people act surprised they lost GE because they don't know the rules, are absent-minded and crossed with something they shouldn't have, or doesn't think the rules are a big deal. Then after they had their GE revoked they act like surprised Pikachu and ask about how they can get it back thinking it is like a DUI and they just need to pay a fine or wait 6 months or something. So many GE holders have no clue.
I've had NEXUS for nearly two decades, live on the border, cross weekly, and eveytime before I cross I still triple-check my car and make sure it is clean and nothing inadmissible in either country is in it. In addition to the people who don't know the rules, others gets way too comfortable and used to the easy crossing and forget that they can and do pull people into secondary for search for no reason other than to make sure you are still complying with programs rules. Doesn't surprise me at all a ton of people are getting their GE revoked.
Ugh that was supposed to be a standalone comment, not as a reply to your.
Where do you see a "four trips per 12 month period" requirement?
@James it’s printed on the back of the letter that came with the GE card when they used to give them out, it was also pre exquisite when applying as you had to be referred by an airline at the time ( VS fior me) who gave you a referral code for validation.
They need to find loose change somewhere to pay that $10,000 bonus.