The problem is that it's Saudi Arabia who must ultimately approve citizens who will receive the trusted status. We have no choice but to rely on other governments to do background checks on their citizens. In other words, the country that produced many terrorists, including 16 of the 9/11 terrorists, now has the final say in granting their citizens this preferred status. Why trust them over other allies?
The program was created in 2012 by the Obama administration. I have to wonder why, in this age of terrorist attacks, would they come up with a program to allow people to by pass security at airports when it means trusting foreign governments.
Allowing a country to take part in this program requires a great deal of trust.
"They asked for "assurances" about whether Saudi applicants would receive proper screening before being enrolled and what steps would be taken to prevent terrorists from exploiting the system. They noted, as other critics of the decision have, that Saudi Arabia produced 15 of the 19 hijackers behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
"Certainly, despite our longstanding relationship with the Kingdom, there are potential risks in opening this program to Saudi Arabia that must be considered," they wrote.
They noted that Saudi Arabia also was temporarily on a list of countries whose U.S.-bound travelers would face higher scrutiny following the attempted Christmas Day bombing in 2009.
The Investigative Project on Terrorism issued a report last week on the department's under-the-radar announcement to expand the Global Entry program to Saudi Arabia -- which was first made by Napolitano after meeting in January with her Saudi counterpart. Any Saudi travelers cleared through the program will be able to bypass the normal customs line after providing passports and fingerprints. The status lasts for five years. Applicants are expected to undergo a thorough vetting before they are accepted.
Only an exclusive handful of countries enjoy inclusion in the Global Entry program -- Canada, Mexico, South Korea and the Netherlands. According to the IPT, some officials were questioning why Saudi Arabia gets to reap the benefits of the program, when key U.S. allies like Germany and France are not enrolled.
The lawmakers who wrote to Napolitano said they remain "vigilant for vulnerabilities that our enemies can exploit" to get inside U.S. borders.
"Expanding Global Entry to high-risk countries may represent such a risk," they wrote."
Lawmakers concerned about 'potential risks' of giving Saudi passengers fast-track status
"A DHS official said that the initial agreement was struck with the understanding that the U.S. and Saudi Arabia will come together on background checks and red flags that would disqualify participants from the program.
The official stressed that Customs will gather a multitude of information from Global Entry applicants including “criminal history, customs violations, immigration violations, agriculture violations, investigatory records and terrorist indices.”
Applicants also need to conduct in-person interviews with Customs officers and get finger printing done for background checks.
Global Entry is relatively new, having been permanently established in March 2012 after a test run as a pilot program. According to the DHS website, it is open to citizens from the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands and South Korea. The U.S. has also reached a deal with Israel on the program."
Pols question Saudi 'trusted' status
