Overview
- Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told Fox News he is “drawing up plans” to stop U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from processing inbound international flights for certain so‑called sanctuary cities, with Newark cited as a focal point.
- No policy has been implemented and officials warn the idea faces legal and operational hurdles, with airline groups and the Transportation Department saying reduced CBP staffing could create severe passenger and cargo delays and that implementation would likely be postponed until after the FIFA World Cup.
- Tensions at Newark’s Delaney Hall have escalated into public clashes between ICE agents and protesters, a reported pepper‑spray incident involving Senator Andy Kim, and hunger strikes by detainees that officials have threatened to counter with force‑feeding.
- Mullin also asserted that DHS has arrested “tens of thousands” of gang members classified as terrorists, a claim the public reporting says he did not substantiate with evidence and that has drawn additional scrutiny.
- Travel industry groups, some Trump administration officials, and civil‑rights advocates have pushed back publicly, and the plan could prompt court challenges, wide travel disruption for visitors and cargo, and intensified federal–local political conflict.