DHS Plans International Travel Shutdown At Airports In Democratic-Led Cities—But Not Newark

Key Facts

What Does Mullin’s Plan Have To Do With An Ice Detention Center?

Last week, Mullin stated he would pull CBP officers from Newark International Airport due to continued protests at Delaney Hall, a detention facility run by a non-public contractor on behalf of ICE. Mullin stated if native officers didn’t do extra to guard the power, he would shut down customs screening at Newark and shift the CBP officers to the detention middle. Subsequently, Sherrill ordered state police onto the entrance line at Delaney Hall, and enacted a compulsory in a single day curfew. In response, Mullin stated “as long as we continue to have this partnership with local and state law enforcement, then there’ll be no need” to tug CBP officers from Newark Airport. But Mullin insisted he nonetheless has a “plan to initiate” the elimination of customs officers from different worldwide airports in Democratic-led sanctuary cities. “This idea that this is only going to hurt blue people in blue cities is either shockingly naive or dumb,” Juliette Kayyem, who served as assistant secretary for intergovernmental affairs at DHS within the Obama administration, told The Hill.

What Is A Sanctuary City?

Following an April 2025 govt order by President Donald Trump, the Department of Justice (DOJ) was required to establish jurisdictions that “use their authority to violate, obstruct, and defy the enforcement of Federal immigration laws.” The DOJ has recognized 18 “sanctuary cities” throughout the U.S. “based on actions and policies that materially impede enforcement of federal immigration statutes and regulations.” They are: Albuquerque, New Mexico; Berkeley, California; Boston; Chicago; Denver; East Lansing, Michigan; Hoboken, New Jersey; Jersey City, New Jersey; Los Angeles; New Orleans; New York City,; Newark, New Jersey; Paterson, New Jersey; Philadelphia; Portland, Oregon; Rochester, New York; Seattle; and San Francisco.

Why Has Mullin’s Plan Drawn Criticism?

Within hours of Mullin’s feedback on Fox News final week, backlash from everything of the journey trade got here swiftly. “Pulling CBP officers from airports would cause a severe, self-inflicted economic wound,” the U.S. Travel Association said in an announcement. “American citizens trying to get home, international visitors, and the success of a once-in-a-generation global event cannot be used as leverage—as a threat, a punishment or a catalyst for negotiation—in disputes over immigration.” The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents almost 300 airways that account for over 80% of complete international air visitors, warned Mullin that suspending customs processing at Newark would “raise serious concerns among international partners about the United States’ reliability in upholding its aviation obligations.” In a joint statement, the lodge and airline trade foyer teams stated Mullin’s proposal “threatens to cause unnecessary chaos throughout the nation’s air transportation system.” Mullin’s thought even drew hearth from inside Trump’s Cabinet. “We shouldn’t shut down air travel in a state that doesn’t agree with our politics,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told a House Budget Committee final week. “You plan to withdraw CBP officers from airports in cities that don’t roll over for Trump. That is insane,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., informed Mullin at a Senate Appropriations Committee listening to on Tuesday afternoon. “It is not only dangerous, it would also spell economic crisis for blue and red states.”

Big Number

$8 billion. That’s how a lot worldwide customer spending could be misplaced if CBP officers have been faraway from Newark Airport, the U.S. Travel Association estimated.

Further Reading

How Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin Built An Eight-Figure Fortune (Forbes)

Trump Officials Sow Confusion Over ICE’s Role At The World Cup (Forbes)