Overview
- DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Tuesday he is “drawing up plans” to stop Customs and Border Protection from processing international arrivals at airports the administration labels sanctuary jurisdictions.
- Removing CBP officers from an airport’s international arrivals would mean passengers and cargo could not be admitted there, which in practice would force cancellations or divert flights and choke supply chains.
- Major travel groups and Airlines for America warned the move would have “devastating consequences” for tourism and carriers, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy publicly called the idea a bad one.
- Multiple outlets and administration officials say the proposal remains in planning stages and faces steep legal, operational and political obstacles that make near‑term implementation uncertain.
- Mullin framed the threat as a response to protests and access clashes at Newark’s Delaney Hall detention center, and experts note similar attempts to punish sanctuary jurisdictions have prompted court fights and broad pushback.