Global Entry has supposedly been restored back to normal operations effective as of today, Wednesday, March 11, 2026 at 5:00 in the morning Eastern Daylight Time after having been suspended as a result of the partial shutdown of the federal government of the United States.
Global Entry Restored Back to Normal Operations — Supposedly
A statement was reportedly released that stated:
As DHS continually evaluates measures it can take amidst the Democrats’ continued shutdown of the department, DHS will be reactivating Global Entry on March 11th at 5:00 AM ET. We are working hard to alleviate the disruptions to travelers caused by the Democrats’ shutdown.
The statement could not be immediately verified at the time that this article was written, as the official Internet web site of the Department of Homeland Security has not been updated. According to it, Kristi Noem is still the secretary of that department of the federal government of the United States.
Kristi Noem was fired by Donald J. Trump — who is the current president of the United States — on Thursday, March 5, 2026.
I am currently reporting from Vietnam and am not scheduled to return to the United States until next week; so I personally cannot confirm that the Global Entry trusted traveler program has been restored.
The original temporary suspension of the TSA Pre✓ and Global Entry trusted traveler programs — which allow travelers who are registered with those programs to move more quickly through security checkpoints at airports — on Sunday, February 22, 2026 at 6:00 in the morning Eastern Standard Time was due to the shutdown of much of the agency of the federal government. TSA Pre✓ was restored almost immediately after fierce public outcry; but Global Entry remained suspended until earlier today.
Final Boarding Call
Yet again, the politicians who are supposed to be working for you cannot work together and come to an agreement — and once again, you ultimately wind up paying for it. This is another of countless examples of the ludicrousness and confusion of politics infringing upon travel.
People pay to subscribe to the Global Entry trusted traveler program; and kiosks have replaced agents in many areas where citizens of the United States can enter the country within minutes. Will subscribers get an extension — or a partial refund — as a result of the suspension of Global Entry?
Don’t hold your breath.
Frankly, the shutdown of Global Entry was purely a political move by Kristi Noem to initially shut down both trusted traveler programs with no thought as to the consequences of how her inexplicably boneheaded decision would adversely affect innocent travelers who have paid for the privilege of returning to the United States as expeditiously as possible.
Other politicians who were complicit in unnecessarily complicating people from traveling need to follow the “lead” of Kristi Noem and be fired as well — regardless of with which political party they are affiliated.
Enough is enough.
Photograph ©2023 by Brian Cohen.
