Washington, D.C. -Today, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12), the Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, issued the following statement condemning Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf’s abrupt policy announcement last night excluding New York residents from Trusted Traveler eligibility:
“The Trump Administration’s public announcement suspending Trusted Traveler Program applications and renewals for New Yorkers is political retribution, plain and simple.
“The President, Acting Secretary Wolf, and other senior officials have leveled baseless attacks at New York for weeks. Acting Secretary Wolf tweeted last month that ‘there has been a complete breakdown of law & order in New York City’-when crime in the city is at near-record lows. Now the Administration is channeling its political vendetta into a policy change that is abrupt, arbitrary, and abusive.
“Making this change through a public announcement on Fox News underscores that the President seems intent on weaponizing federal policy to punish communities that oppose his harmful actions. Previous administrations would have worked with state agencies to address legitimate information-sharing issues. This Administration is interested in retribution.
“President Trump must stop using New Yorkers as political pawns in his unconscionable, discriminatory agenda."
