Well here’s some positive news… now if only someone could explain why this ever happened in the first place.
In this post:
Global Entry shutdown ends after 17 days
On February 22, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it would suspend Global Entry and TSA PreCheck, two programs that save travelers time at the airport. The argument was that due to the partial government shutdown, resources would instead be put into “prioritizing the general traveling population.”
This made absolutely no sense, since Global Entry and TSA PreCheck are both services that are more efficient for screening travelers, and therefore reduce the number of employees needed. So if you anticipate being short staffed, completely closing Global Entry and TSA PreCheck is counterproductive.
Anyway, the Trump administration had almost immediately reversed course on the TSA PreCheck closure, but kept the Global Entry policy in place for more than two weeks.
That will finally be changing — as of 5AM ET today (March 11, 2026), Global Entry is being reopened across the board, so travelers will once again have access to expedited immigration for clearing immigration about returning to the United States.
This policy reversal is good news, but…
I’m happy to see the Trump administration reverse course on its Global Entry policy, but it’s hard to give them too much credit for simply reversing a baseless restriction they implemented in the first place.
I still don’t understand the full backstory of how this came to be, or what the justification for closing Global Entry was other than “hey, let’s make life more unpleasant for everyone, as that’s a winning strategy with this shutdown.”
Was Kristi Noem behind this policy, and with her now fired — pardon me, I mean, promoted to the important role of “Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas” — the policy is finally being reconsidered? I just don’t get it. If someone has an explanation that doesn’t just involve accusing others of having “TDS,” I’d love to hear it!
Bottom line
Global Entry is reopening as of 5AM on March 11, 2026, after a closure of 17 days. The Trump administration closed Global Entry due to the partial government shutdown, but it’s not exactly clear to me how potential staffing issues are supposed to be helped by making the immigration screening process longer for some passengers.
What do you make of this Global Entry policy reversal?
Glad it is back but lame that a service we have paid extra for was not available during the “shutdown” due to funding
I used mobile passport control at SFO this week returning from Australia, and it was speedy. Just an extra step to download the app and fill out a form
Mobile Passport was closed at DFW last week.
237 days until the midterms, friends. Vote.
Glad they finally realized harming those who pay for this privilege was an odd form of collective punishment and ineffective at reaching any of their goals.
As for them choosing to not pay federal workers… that too is collective punishment. There’s ample funds (especially with the excess from last year’s BBB legislation). Those in power simply hate workers and consumers.
Time to choose different leaders…
People saiducks. Same thing during 45.
And you got him back at 47.
So either voters sucks, 46 sucks, or the system sucks.
Say what you want but the people has spoken. 47 is of the people, by the people, for the people
At LAX they had ‘closed’ global entry but just moved the tablets they use for GE to the general line and were clearing all US citizens instantly as if all had global entry.
So who knows, maybe global entry isn’t around much longer as they seem to have enough ‘data’ to clear all US citizens instantly with a photo, barely breaking a stride. But then again it’s probably a good source of revenue so who knows
Most of us have Global, not because we use it every week, but because it’s included with our credit card benefits (at least the fee is reimbursed every 4ish years).
If there’s a way for the government to make processing easier for everyone, we should welcome that, regardless of GE.
How naive, GE is a greedy cash grab by the agency. They could have speed things up since day 1.
Maybe 1990 isn't your birth year but the year your teen mom was born.