The federal government will allow New Yorkers to again apply for ease-of-entry programs for crossing the Canadian border and global entry programs, resolving a dispute that began earlier this year over allowing undocumented immigrants to apply for driver's licenses. 

"After the Department of Homeland Security announced the ban on the Trusted Traveler Program for New York residents in February, I immediately met with President Trump at the White House to discuss what -- to the extent that there were bonafide concerns -- needed to be done to address the issue while still protecting the privacy of all New Yorkers," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement on Thursday.

"Subsequently the matter was dealt with in the state budget passed in April. I am glad that this issue has finally been resolved for all New Yorkers."

The federal government had frozen access to trusted traveler programs and other Global Entry programs that allowed New Yorkers to access border crossings on an expedited basis. At the time, the Trump administration pointed to the new state law allowing undocumented immigrants to access driver's licenses. 

The move affected about 175,000 New Yorkers who had enrolled in the programs.

Ultimately, New York tweaked that law that provided access to DMV records on a limited basis for the applications in the state budget earlier this year. 

“We appreciate the information sharing to CBP for the trusted travel program, which enables DHS to move forward and begin once again processing New York residents under the Trusted Travel Program.  Nonetheless, local New York law continues to maintain provisions that undermine the security of the American people and purport to criminalize information sharing between law enforcement entities,” Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said in a statement.

Canada's border with the United States is closed, saved for limited exceptions, amid the coronavirus pandemic.