Trump’s Travel Ban Removed Scores of “Trusted Travelers”

Muslim Advocates, a group which sued the Department of Homeland Security, has revealed just how many passengers were were removed from TTP in the initial period following President Trump’s travel ban. However, the CBP has said that all of these travelers have now had their privileges reinstated.

Analysis by a legal advocacy group has revealed that over 400 pre-vetted passengers were removed from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Trusted Traveler Programs (TTP) after the institution of President Trump’s controversial travel ban, Bloomberg reports. Data revealed by Muslim Advocates indicates that, the ban – which originally included permanent residents of the U.S. as well as citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries – resulted in 432 persons being removed from these programs.

While the restrictions on permanent residents of these nations were lifted days after the original ban came into force on January 27, 2017, the group said, “…that CBP officials combed through thousands of approved passengers, manually revoking the Trusted Traveler credentials of hundreds with ties to the countries listed in the ban.”

The CBP’s TTP are comprised of four different programs, all of which involve an initial vetting of travelers to ensure that they do not pose a threat to national security.

Muslim Advocates has sued the Department of Homeland security in order to obtain information related to these revoked TTP privileges. According to documentation obtained by the group, in the seven months following the ban, revocations increased by 42 per cent. In the four months before this legislation was enacted, there were just 169 revocations per week.

Matt Callahan, a staff attorney for the advocacy group, offered insight, saying, “The most striking change is the number of revocations from right before the Muslim ban to right after the ban.

However, the CBP has said that all those removed from its TTP have now has their privileges reinstated, but declined to offer firm figures.

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