Officials at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lifted the ban on New York state residents applying for membership in trusted traveler programs including Global Entry after barring applications from state residents for nearly six months. DHS lifted the ban after stating in a federal court filing that its reasoning for the policy was based on false statements. In February, DHS had suspended New Yorkers from the trusted traveler programs after the New York State “Green Light” law was passed that allowed undocumented immigrants the ability to obtain driver’s licenses. DHS officials claimed after the law was passed that if they could not freely access the state’s DMV database, they would not be able to verify an individual’s eligibility for Global Entry, but other states with similar policies were not excluded. Officials also amended the “Green Light” law to allow federal agencies access to the DMV records for applicants to the trusted traveler programs.

New Yorkers’ applications for Global Entry and other trusted traveler memberships including NEXUS, SENTRI, and FAST will now be processed. When the ban was enacted, approximately 175,000 New Yorkers were reportedly removed from the programs and approximately 80,000 conditionally approved or pending applications were rejected. Although New York State residents can now submit applications and renewals to Global Entry, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which runs the trusted traveler programs, has shut down all enrollment centers until at least August 10. “The Trump Administration backing down and restoring Global Entry and other Trusted Traveler Programs to New Yorkers is a victory for travelers, workers, commerce, and our state’s economy,” Letitia James, NYS Attorney General, who sued the Trump administration over the ban, said in a statement. “We will continue to defend New York’s right to pass its own laws and will fight to protect our state’s residents anytime they are bullied by the president because safety and fairness are not mutually exclusive under the law.”

Artist Arlene Shechet has created a new site-specific installation at Madison Square Park featuring a series of new sculptures in porcelain, wood, steel, and cast iron installed around and within the emptied circular reflecting pool. Initially inspired by memories of a sunken living room in her grandparents’ apartment, Shechet wants visitors to step down into the reflecting pool to “linger and reflect.” In her sculptures for the installation, she uses forms that reflect her interest in historical decorative arts and references flora and fauna, including a lion’s head and paw, a bird’s colossal feather, and tree-like sculptures and branches. “My hope has been to reimagine the hardscape of the Park with delight and surprise,” Shechet says. “New Yorkers rely on the sidewalks, the pavement, and the street as the core of their urban lives. Full Steam Ahead becomes a lively and human amphitheater, softening the hardscape through sculptural intervention evocative of 18th-century garden landscapes.”