Update November 5, 2019: The CBP website now states that the Global Entry Enrollment Center (GEEC) at LAX is partially reopen and able to handle 150 daily interviews (instead of the 250 at full capacity).
Conditionally approved Global Entry applicants can schedule their appointments for interviews beginning November 11.
The Global Entry enrollment center at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) has been closed indefinitely to free up personnel to staff the Trump administration’s border detention camps.
Global Entry provides fast-tracked access into the US, but first you must schedule an interview at an enrollment center. Another option is to show up at enrollment on arrival airport if you have been conditionally approved.
The enrollment center facility at LAX was closed on June 23 according to a statement to the Los Angeles Times from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) who said it would free up staff to work on “the humanitarian and security crisis on our southwest border.”
Inconvenienced Travelers At LAX
Since the closure, some travelers have shown up to the LAX center only to find it closed. The Times reports:
Stephanie Smith of West Hollywood said she received an emailed appointment confirmation on July 1, then arrived for her July 19 appointment and found the doors locked.
“I would like my $100 back and/or an appointment to get my Global Entry application approved and finalized,” she said in an email to The Times.
Stephanie Malin, a spokeswoman for Customs and Border Protection, said in an email that travelers “should have received notification if their appointment was being canceled.” Malin said she was checking on the LAX situation.
The situation is expected to last at least until September and there is no official reopening date.
For Los Angeles area applicants, the CBP’s offices at San Diego International Airport and Long Beach Seafront are still open. If you’re conditionally approved, you can also enroll on arrival at LAX and other area airports.
Detention Camps At The US Border
Of course, the inconvenience felt by travelers is nothing compared to the humanitarian crisis that is taking place for children and others seeking asylum.
According to NBC News, at least seven children are known to have died while in US border camps. And members of Congress aren’t even allowed to visit the camps where they are holding children separated from families. However, CBP officers are being deployed there from LAX.
Global Entry LAX: Bottom Line
Obviously, we wonder if there’s more to the story here and if any other Global Entry enrollment centers will be shuttered. Any inconvenience felt by travelers at LAX pales in comparison to what the children and others in US CBP custody have been going through at the detention camps.
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