Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Tuesday the Trump administration is developing plans to withdraw federal customs and immigration officers from major international airports in sanctuary cities, a move that could effectively halt international air travel at some of the busiest airports in the country.
“We are currently – which we’re not initiating yet – but we’re currently drawing up plans,” Mullin said in an interview with Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity. “We shouldn’t be processing international flights into their cities.”
Mullin said cities where local officials refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement should not expect continued federal customs services at their airports. “Local radical left Democrats aren’t allowing us to do our job and enforce federal laws,” he said.
The U.S. Justice Department’s list of sanctuary jurisdictions includes cities home to some of the nation’s largest international airports: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Denver, New York City, Newark, Boston, and Philadelphia.
The announcement follows a Reuters report last week that Mullin had privately told U.S. travel industry executives the department was weighing the move. The U.S. Travel Association, which represents major airlines, hotels, and car rental firms, confirmed meeting with the DHS secretary. Mullin “confirmed his previous comments that the administration is considering a withdrawal of CBP officers from international airports in certain sanctuary cities,” the group said in a statement to Reuters.
More than 50 million international travelers arrived at the three major New York City airports alone last year. The announcement comes as the FIFA World Cup is set to begin next month, with tens of millions of additional international visitors expected at U.S. airports.
Not everyone in the administration supports the move. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy publicly broke with Mullin last week.
“We have people from around the world and around the country that need to be able to fly into all different kinds of places,” Duffy said. “We shouldn’t shut down air travel in a state that doesn’t agree with our politics.”
