Global Entry revocations are soaring — here's why you could lose yours and how to fight back

More people than ever are losing their memberships to Global Entry, the scheme that lets millions of so-called “low-risk” travelers enter the U.S. with less of the usual hassle.

The program, run by the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency, allows frequent travelers to skip airport security queues and body scanners. More than 60 airports in the U.S., including in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles, have automated kiosks that let it happen.

Yet, vast numbers of people have lost those rights since the start of 2024, and revocations are rising faster than new people are joining. CBP scrapped the memberships of more than 17,000 people last year, up 47% annually, according to a Freedom of Information Act request by Bloomberg. The trend has continued in 2025.

But why are more memberships being revoked, and what can people do to about it?

‘Complaining’ about border officers

Some people have had their Global Entry revoked for relatively straightforward reasons. Among those cited by the CBP are having recent criminal charges or breaking customs rules when crossing the border, such as bringing in banned items or things that you have to declare without doing so.

Other times it is less certain. Wilmer Chavarria, Superintendent of the Winooski Shool District in Vermont, was detained and questioned by CBT for about five hours when he was re-entering the U.S. from Nicaragua in June. He later learned his Global Entry had been revoked. 

Chavarria, a U.S. citizen since 2018, said the interrogation included searches of his devices and told local news outlet Vermont Public that it was “nothing short of surreal and the definition of psychological terror.”

Another case involved a person who complained about an “aggressive CBP [officer] while coming back from Mexico” and had her Global Entry card taken away. The person, a former CBP employee herself, said the officials “lifted our [Global Entry] cards because we ‘were unprofessional.’” In other words, you can lose your membership for filing a complaint. 

The CBP has increasingly stopped giving reasons for revoking memberships. A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found in 2023 that CBP changed the process used to tell people they have lost their membership and “inadvertently removed” the reason from its letter template.

What can you do about it?

There is a CBP ombudsman office, which may overturn revocations. But in a frustrating turn for those affected, the process requires you to show why the revocation was an error – a tricky thing to do if you were never given a reason in the first place.

Nonetheless, the GAO report said 39% of these reversal appeals were successful between 2020 and 2023, so it is definitely worth doing. 

Meanwhile, for those who have not been affected – yet – there are some simple things you can do to lower the chances of having to go through the process, such as knowing what officials are looking out for.

One of those is any sign that a member is a security risk. Convictions for driving under the influence has been flagged as such. Buying counterfeit branded items online, whether you knew it or not, is another one, according to travel news outlet View From The Wing. 

And if you are one of the unlucky 61% of people whose appeal has failed, there is one last course of action to get your Global Entry back – judicial review. That is, of course, if you’re willing to pay for a lawyer.