shipcamein

Global Entry is not about prohibited weapons, explosives, and incendiaries. It's about expedited entry upon returning from abroad. It's about deciding if you are who you say you are, and you have the right (or privilege, if foreign) to waltz right in without much hassle.

It's easy to forget the reason for this - but for years ago when you flew in from a foreign nation - you waited in a lonnnnnnnnnng line, only to be asked: Where were you? Why? Business? What's in the bag? And so on - all the while, your PassPort was being examined - and your own ID was being checked against your passport - not because they care about that 3rd bottle of wine in your bag (though some do), but because - if you don't live here - and you forged these documents - they gotta figure it out somehow.

So - along comes GE. With the advent of cool technology and extremely fast networks - they can "see" that you're you -because of fingerprints and eyeballs. Now you can skip the lame questioning, NOT because you aren't possibly sneaking something in - you might be - but because PRIMARILY they are 100% sure you belong here. Everything else is secondary.

How did they get this sure? Because you provided them with a ton of information about yourself and open access to every and any piece of recorded info about your entire life, and you also filled out a lengthy application, and now they can compare the application to this pile of info in front of them. If not all twos plus twos equal fours - - then you might not be you. Doesn't mean you're out. It means more scrutiny.

But by the time you get GE - you deserve it. Now the secondary aspect. Because it's (relatively) easy to "sneak" an extra bottle of wine - or bag of cash - in this way, they could alleviate a lot of that pre-emptively by determining if you are, on the whole, an upstanding citizen. No, past results are not a predictor of future behavior. But ... statistically .. it IS. So if you're a crook now, you'll probably be a crook in the future. Playing the odds.

This means that the CBP has great latitude in declining your application, even if you haven't been convicted of anything. For instance, a friend of mine was declined because he once got popped at the border with a bootleg item (like a fake coach purse). He thought nothing of it, not when he bought it, for sure, and not when they took it...but years later...there it was. Declined. It's that subtle.

Now New York comes along. "Hey, CBP," says NY, "We'd like to be verified as generally upstanding citizens and also residents who belong here, but since some of us do NOT in fact belong here, we'll be hiding some of the info from your prying eyes. But we'd like the program to continue as usual. Thanks."

You can see how positively bonkers and contradictory those two angles are. They can't co-exist. You can make all the excuses for NY and "gov't overreach" accusations (i'm not saying you're wrong) - but the two philosophies and outcomes are - at their very core - completely at odds with one another. It doesn't matter that you don't drive. It matters because ALL THE INFORMATION MATTERS ALL THE TIME. You (NY) do not get to pick what's important to them. CBP picked it. NY opted out. Now NY seems stunned that CBP won’t cave on this issue.

Maybe they will. I kinda doubt it.

One more thing - regarding the DMV and an application for a 12 year old: It says right on the application - if you're applying for your minor child (<18 years of age) then the responsible adult must provide information (about their self, not their child).