International Airports FACE Mullin’s Ultimatum

Sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement may soon find their international airports stripped of customs officers — and new Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is making clear this is no idle threat.

Story Snapshot

DHS Secretary Mullin is considering reducing Customs and Border Protection staffing at international airports in cities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
Mullin met with airline and travel executives at DHS headquarters to discuss the proposal, signaling it is more than political rhetoric.
Targeted airports could include those in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, Denver, Philadelphia, and San Francisco.
Critics warn the move could disrupt international travel broadly, while supporters argue federal resources should prioritize cooperative jurisdictions.

Mullin Puts Sanctuary Cities on Notice

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is publicly floating a plan to reduce Customs and Border Protection (CBP) staffing at international airports located in sanctuary cities — those that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. Speaking on Fox News, Mullin laid out the core argument directly: “If they’re a sanctuary city, and they’re receiving international flights, and we’re asking them to partner with us at the airport, but once they walk out the airport, they’re not going to enforce immigration policy?” He added pointedly, “Who’s willing to work with us and partner with us?” ^[3]

Mullin also tied the proposal to resource constraints at the department, stating the administration must “start prioritizing things at some point,” and blamed Democrats for blocking CBP funding that would have eased the situation. ^[3] The plan is described as reducing, but not fully eliminating, customs staffing at targeted airports — a distinction Mullin’s team appears to be using to frame the move as enforcement prioritization rather than a total shutdown of customs processing. ^[2]

Real Meetings, Real Targets

The proposal moved beyond television soundbites when Mullin met with a group of airline and travel executives at DHS headquarters to discuss the concept. ^[2] That meeting signals the administration is treating this as a legitimate policy option rather than a rhetorical warning shot. Reports identify specific airports in the crosshairs, including Newark and John F. Kennedy International in New York, as well as airports serving Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, and Portland. ^[1] The breadth of the list underscores how serious the administration is about using customs staffing as leverage.

From a conservative enforcement standpoint, the logic is straightforward. Federal agents process international arrivals at airports, then hand those individuals off into cities that actively obstruct Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. Sanctuary policies mean that even individuals flagged for immigration violations can walk free once outside the airport perimeter. Mullin’s argument is that continuing to deploy federal resources in jurisdictions that undermine federal law is an inefficient use of a constrained enforcement budget. ^[3]

Legitimate Pressure or Logistical Minefield?

Opponents of the plan argue that reducing CBP staffing at major international hubs would effectively halt international travel and commerce — not just for targeted cities, but for connecting passengers traveling through those hubs to destinations across the country. ^[1] Airline and travel industry executives who attended the DHS meeting reportedly warned of “enormous” fallout, and some analysts have suggested the proposal reflects a limited understanding of how global travel logistics actually function. ^[2] Those concerns deserve serious consideration, particularly given that millions of travelers who have nothing to do with local sanctuary policies would bear the consequences.

NEW: Last night on @FoxNews, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin again said he is considering pulling CBP out of sanctuary city airports, adding that "we are currently drawing up plans" to do so. His comments came in response to protests at ICE's Delaney Hall detention facility in…

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) May 27, 2026

There is also a constitutional dimension. Legal analysts have raised the prospect of a Tenth Amendment challenge, noting that courts have consistently distinguished between the federal government encouraging local cooperation and outright commandeering state and local governments. ^[4] No formal DHS directive, legal opinion, or implementation timeline has been made public, meaning the full scope and legal grounding of the proposal remain unclear. What is clear is that Mullin is pressing the issue aggressively, and sanctuary-city mayors who have long thumbed their noses at federal immigration law may finally be facing a federal government willing to make their defiance costly.