Travel Chaos Fears Over Customs Threat: List of Airports at Risk

DHS is weighing pulling customs employees from airports in sanctuary cities, with Newark underneath rapid scrutiny as officers contemplate redeploying officers to assist immigration enforcement operations.

Airlines warn even partial reductions in customs processing may set off delays, cancellations and cascading disruption throughout U.S. and international flight networks.

Millions of worldwide passengers, U.S. vacationers, airways and cargo shipments may face rerouting or delays if staffing is diminished at main gateway airports.

Newsweek contacted the White House and DHS for remark through electronic mail outdoors of normal working hours on Saturday morning.

Why It Matters

The proposal stems from a broader conflict between the federal authorities and jurisdictions that restrict cooperation with immigration enforcement. Because main worldwide hubs are concentrated in these cities, any disruption may rapidly unfold past native areas and have an effect on nationwide journey and commerce flows.

What To Know

Warnings over potential journey chaos intensified this week as Newark Liberty International Airport turned the primary real-world take a look at of the concept.

Mullin has mentioned customs officers could possibly be pulled from Newark to help Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations linked to protests at a close-by detention facility.

If “radical left Democrats” aren’t permitting federal authorities to implement immigration legal guidelines of their communities, “then we shouldn’t be processing international flights into their cities either,” Mullin mentioned in an interview with Fox News earlier this week.

That shift in staffing, officers and business figures warn, may instantly disrupt the processing of worldwide arrivals and departures.

Airline and journey teams have reacted swiftly. Seventeen business organizations—together with Airlines for America (A4A), the U.S. Travel Association and the Cargo Airline Association—urged DHS to keep away from any motion that would have “operational and economic consequences.”

“International aviation networks are highly interconnected, and operational changes at a small number of gateway airports will quickly ripple across the country, negatively impacting travelers, cargo shipments, supply chains, and the communities that depend on those connections,” the teams mentioned.

Airlines for America went additional, warning that decreasing CBP staffing “would have a devastating effect on the airline and tourism industries, causing a significant operational disruption to carriers, travelers and the flow of international cargo.”

The U.S. Travel Association mentioned it had met with Mullin and confirmed that the administration is contemplating withdrawing customs officers from some main worldwide airports.

“U.S. Travel believes such a move would have devastating consequences for the travel industry and communities that depend on international visitation,” the group mentioned.

A White House official signaled the concept remains to be into consideration however not permitted.

“The President loves having a team that is constantly coming up with new ideas, but ultimately any policy decisions will be up to him,” the official told Politico underneath the situation of anonymity to talk freely.

At current, there isn’t any confirmed timeline for any rollout. Officials aware of the discussions say there are not any imminent plans, and the proposal is seen internally as one possibility moderately than a finalized coverage.

Still, the scope of what could possibly be affected is important. DHS has repeatedly pointed to airports in sanctuary jurisdictions, lots of that are among the many busiest worldwide gateways within the nation.

List of Airports at Risk

There isn’t any single authorized definition of a “sanctuary city,” however the time period usually refers to jurisdictions that restrict cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

A Department of Justice list printed in 2025 recognized a number of cities with main worldwide airports that would fall into this class.

Below are key cities and their major airports steadily cited in reporting on the proposal:

California

• Los Angeles — Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
• San Francisco — San Francisco International Airport (SFO)

Colorado

• Denver — Denver International Airport (DEN)

Illinois

• Chicago — O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
• Chicago — Midway International Airport (MDW)

Massachusetts

• Boston — Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)

New Jersey

• Newark — Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)

New York

• New York City — John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
• New York City — LaGuardia Airport (LGA)

Oregon

• Portland — Portland International Airport (PDX)

Pennsylvania

• Philadelphia — Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)

Washington

• Seattle — Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)

Washington, D.C.

• Washington, D.C. metro space — Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)
• Washington, D.C. metro space — Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD)

Many of those airports act as key entry factors for worldwide journey, which means any disruption would prolong far past metropolis limits.

Newark sits on the heart of the present debate due to its proximity to an immigration detention facility that has turn into a focus for protests.

Mullin has steered reallocating CBP officers from the airport to assist enforcement efforts there, elevating issues that worldwide passengers may face delays or canceled flights if staffing ranges fall.

The airport can be a serious hub for each passenger journey and cargo, dealing with tens of hundreds of worldwide arrivals every day, making any disruption notably seen and rapid.

What Happens Next

For now, the proposal stays underneath dialogue, with pushback from throughout the administration and throughout the journey business.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has publicly opposed the concept, warning that air journey shouldn’t be disrupted for political disagreements.

“We shouldn’t shut down air travel in a state that doesn’t agree with our politics,” he advised a congressional listening to final week.

At the identical time, business leaders say even the opportunity of such a transfer has already created uncertainty, particularly because the U.S. prepares for a surge of worldwide guests forward of main occasions.

If applied, even partially, the coverage may reshape how worldwide flights enter the United States—and the way simply passengers and cargo transfer throughout the nation.