The head of the nation’s leading travel advocacy organization is pushing back hard against the suspension of Global Entry, calling the move a threat to national security and a financial burden on the very agency it’s meant to support.
U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman issued a statement urging the Department of Homeland Security to restore the trusted traveler program immediately, arguing that suspending it undermines Customs and Border Protection‘s ability to do its job effectively.
“Suspending this critical security program does the opposite of what the Department of Homeland Security intends,” Freeman said, warning that the move adds volume to standard processing lines and stretches personnel resources thin.
Freeman cited significant operational data to make his case. In 2025 alone, Global Entry’s automated biometric technology reduced international arrival wait times by 70% and freed up more than 300,000 officer hours — time that CBP redirected toward screening higher-risk or unknown travelers. Eliminating that capacity, he argued, doesn’t tighten security. It weakens it.
The program’s more than 13 million members undergo rigorous background checks, interviews, and vetting before being approved, Freeman noted, making Global Entry a frontline security tool rather than simply a premium travel perk.
“It is on the front line of national security,” he said.
Freeman also challenged the fiscal rationale for the suspension, pointing out that Global Entry is primarily self-funded through the $120 membership fee that travelers pay to enroll.
“There is no fiscal — or logical — rationale for this decision,” he said.
The suspension comes amid broader uncertainty over DHS operations and funding. TSA PreCheck, a separate trusted traveler program also administered under DHS, has continued operating, though questions about the durability of both programs have mounted as budget pressures and agency restructuring have created turbulence across federal travel and security infrastructure.
For travel agents, the Global Entry suspension has practical implications for clients who rely on the program to clear international arrivals quickly at major U.S. gateways. Agents should advise international travelers to expect longer CBP processing times at airports where Global Entry kiosks have been a primary tool for managing arrival volumes, and to build additional time into post-flight logistics accordingly.
Freeman closed his statement with a pointed warning: “Travelers should not be used as leverage to achieve a political outcome.”
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