US: Global Entry passengers swept up in Trump’s travel ban

US Customs and Border Protection revoked the enrollment of people in the Global Entry program and other US “trusted traveller” categories as part of the Trump administration’s travel ban on seven predominantly Muslim nations. The ban triggered raucous protests across the country and was quickly enjoined by the courts. But some industry groups contend the damage to the US travel industry continues. American citizens certified for Global Entry often learned of the issue only when they sought to travel, according to the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, which says it received “dozens” of complaints and is seeking agency records about the revocations through the Freedom of Information Act. A CBP spokeswoman, Jennifer Gabris, said the agency restored some enrollees by early February after the administration clarified that lawful permanent residents weren’t included in the ban. Last month, federal judges also blocked a revised ban. The CBP did not respond to questions about how many people had been purged and restored to the “trusted traveller” programs. Several of the people who complained about being removed from the programs were US citizens originally from countries not included in the bans: India, Lebanon, and Pakistan, said Abed Ayoub, legal and policy director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, which is based in Washington. And some had their Global Entry status revoked before the bans were announced, he said. Ayoub said he was “fairly certain” the government had revoked the status of members based on their names and wasn’t sure that everyone enrolled in the programs had been restored. “The allegation that U.S. Customs and Border Protection cancelled Trusted Traveller memberships because the member had a ‘Muslim-sounding name’ is completely false,” the agency said. Ayoub’s group filed a lawsuit April 18 in federal court saying that the CBP did not respond to its request for the records.<br/>