The Arc of Homeland Security Bends Toward Trump. Chad Wolf Bends With It.

WASHINGTON — It took only 24 hours after President Trump attacked New York City in his State of the Union address for the president’s man at the Department of Homeland Security to act.

Chad F. Wolf had joined the department nearly two decades before as a midlevel staff member to help the sprawling new agency gear up to protect Americans after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. But in February, as the new acting secretary of homeland security, Mr. Wolf introduced himself to most in the United States by announcing on Fox News that New Yorkers were suspended from enrolling in expedited air traveler programs because their state had barred federal immigration enforcement agencies from gaining access to Department of Motor Vehicle records.

“It’s particularly interesting coming from New York again, from where 9/11 occurred,” Mr. Wolf said in a later appearance on the network. “We want to make sure we share information and not continue to withhold information.”

Only after thousands of New Yorkers were suspended from the programs did the department admit in court last month that what Mr. Wolf had said to justify his action was untrue. Several states and territories were not allowing the agency access to motor vehicle records, yet New York had been singled out because, Mr. Wolf had insisted, “New York is the only state, and I think that bears repeating, the only state that prohibits information sharing.”