Immigration enforcement may be jumping from border to boarding pass as Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin threatens to stop processing international travelers at airports in so-called “sanctuary” locales that forbid local authorities from cooperating with federal border policing.
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The proposal, which would weaponize air travel to assert federal dominance over state and city authorities, threatens to plunge arrivals at many of the country’s busiest airports into chaos right as the U.S. is set to play host to millions of fans attending 2026 FIFA World Cup games.
But the White House has not publicly endorsed Mullin’s notion. And even one of Mullin’s fellow Cabinet members has come out against it.
“We have people from around the world and around the country that need to be able to fly into all different kinds of places,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said during a congressional hearing last month. “We shouldn’t shut down air travel in a state that doesn’t agree with our politics.”
What Mullin Says
Despite the silence from President Donald Trump on the matter, Mullin has repeatedly floated pulling Customs and Border Protection officers out of jobs processing international flights and moving them to shore up security at Immigration and Customs Enforcement buildings.
“We’re currently drawing up plans to say listen, in these sanctuary cities where the local, radical-left Democrats aren’t allowing us to do our jobs, and enforce federal laws, then we shouldn’t be processing international flights into their cities either,” Mullin told Fox News early last week.
“They don’t want us to enforce immigration but they want us to process immigration at their facilities?” he asked. “Nothing about that makes sense to me.”
In a subsequent Fox News interview, Mullin seemed to fine-tune the threat, saying he might focus on cities like Newark, New Jersey, site of an angry protest against the administration’s immigration policies.
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Mullin floated “prioritizing” other locations for federal officers. “That may affect international flights coming in and out of their airport,” he said.
“I’m going to have to pull Customs and Border Protection officers out,” he said. “By the way, if you can’t process international flights because customs is closed, you can’t, obviously, process international flights coming in from out of the country.”
Mullin said such a step would be taken soon “if things don’t change.”
Action Would Have Sweeping Consequences
Fox News didn’t press Mullin about the possible effects of removing CBP officers from many of the country’s busiest airports. If international flights into Los Angeles International Airport can’t be processed, where will those thousands of travelers go? Rerouted to Dallas? How many flights would be delayed or canceled? How much of a heads-up will be provided to Americans who are trying to return home?
The U.S. Travel Association says implementing the policy would have “devastating” economic effects and “cause immediate and lasting harm.” The group said CBP officers at Newark Liberty International Airport process 5 million Americans returning home every year, many from other states.
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“Millions of international visitors will face the same disruption, and with the FIFA World Cup weeks away, the damage to America’s reputation as a welcoming destination would be significant and lasting,” the group said.
The association said the policy, even if just implemented at Newark, would cost an estimated $8 billion in annual international visitor spending, “risking nearly 50,000 American jobs.” That’s without the impact on cargo flights from overseas.
You’d think the administration would be eager to avoid that sort of turbulence in an election year. But if this policy comes to pass, international travelers may be reaching for the special bag in the seat pocket in front of them.
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