The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Markwayne Mullin, is pushing a controversial new plan to punish “sanctuary” cities and states that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. His plan is to slash federal customs staffing at their airports or completely halt the processing of all international travelers trying to enter those areas.
While the proposal has gained heavy media attention, it is facing fierce pushback from the travel industry, local governors, and even fellow members of the president’s own Cabinet, who warn the move would trigger absolute chaos across the global aviation network.
The Secretary’s Argument
Secretary Mullin, who took over leadership of DHS in March following the dismissal of Kristi Noem, has reportedly become deeply fixated on using the nation’s airports as leverage against local Democratic politicians.
Mullin’s core argument is straightforward: if local leaders choose to protect undocumented immigrants by blocking cooperation with federal border agents, they should not expect federal customs agents to service their commercial airports. He argues that it makes no sense for cities to demand federal immigration processing at their flight facilities while simultaneously banning federal immigration enforcement on their streets.
Cabinet Civil War and Industry Panic
Despite Mullin’s aggressive public push during conservative media interviews, the policy has not been approved by the White House, and internal administration officials confirm it is currently viewed as a personal obsession of Mullin’s rather than an official West Wing directive.
The plan has exposed a rare public disagreement within the Cabinet. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy openly criticized the idea during a recent congressional hearing, stating plainly that the federal government should not shut down essential air travel in an entire state simply because that state’s local politics do not align with the current administration’s goals.
The private aviation and tourism sectors are also in a state of panic. The trade association Airlines for America warned that cutting Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers would trigger devastating operational disruptions, delaying commercial carriers, trapping travelers in endless lines, and freezing the flow of international cargo. The U.S. Travel Association met directly with Mullin to protest the plan, warning that stopping international arrivals would permanently damage local economies that rely heavily on global tourism spending.
The Real-World Fallout for Everyday Travelers
Aviation analysts note that putting this plan into practice is highly unrealistic and would punish millions of regular travelers who have nothing to do with local immigration disputes. International airline routes are meticulously planned and locked in months in advance. Major non-sanctuary airports simply do not have the extra runway capacity, gate space, or personnel to suddenly absorb hundreds of redirected international flights.
Furthermore, major hubs like John F. Kennedy International in New York or San Francisco International are primary entry points where travelers catch connecting flights to smaller destinations all over the country. Shutting down customs processing at these massive hubs would create a cascading delay effect that would ground domestic flights in both conservative “red” states and liberal “blue” states alike.
The target list of what the Department of Justice considers a “sanctuary jurisdiction” has expanded significantly. It currently includes major travel hubs like New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Philadelphia. It also includes the state of Virginia, where Governor Abigail Spanberger recently signed an executive order limiting state cooperation with federal immigration officers. Because of that order, major airports like Dulles International, which serves as a primary gateway into the nation’s capital, could face sudden de-staffing under Mullin’s proposal.
In response to the threat, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro warned that local states will not hesitate to mount a massive legal defense if the federal government attempts to disrupt American air travel in a reckless and chaotic way.
