Feb 21 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will temporarily suspend from Sunday its PreCheck and Global Entry programs that speed airport security checks for some travellers, the Washington Post said, due to a shutdown at much of the agency.
The halt in the programs run by the DHS will begin from 6 a.m. ET (1100 GMT), the newspaper cited an agency spokesperson as saying on Saturday.
DHS began a partial shutdown last week after Republicans and Democrats failed to reach a deal on immigration enforcement reforms.
The pause in programs is among the emergency measures DHS is taking to redirect staffing more than a week after Congress failed to send it more money, the paper said.
The agency is “making tough but necessary workforce and resource decisions” and prioritizing the “general traveling population” at entry points, the paper cited Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as saying in a statement.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report. The DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
TSA’s PreCheck program allows approved passengers through a dedicated, faster security lane at U.S. airports and is designed to reduce wait times and streamline screening.
Global Entry expedites U.S. customs and immigration clearance for pre‑approved, low‑risk international travelers entering the United States.
On Thursday, the Trump administration ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a part of the DHS, to suspend the deployment of hundreds of aid workers to disaster-affected areas, due to the DHS shutdown.
(Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard and Clarence Fernandez)
