Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin was criticized after announcing that he's "drawing up plans" to end processing of all international flights in blue "sanctuary cities," including New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles.
The Trump administration has continued its aggressive immigration crackdown nationwide, frequently targeting so-called “sanctuary cities” — jurisdictions where local police have been directed not to coordinate with federal immigration authorities such as ICE.
Mullin claimed during a Fox News appearance that Homeland Security had arrested “tens of thousands” of gang members classified as terrorists, though he did not provide evidence supporting the assertion.
Mullin also said DHS officials have discussed restricting international flights into certain cities, including Newark, New Jersey, amid ongoing demonstrations outside Delaney Hall, an immigration detention center that can house up to 1,000 detainees. He argued that local law enforcement agencies there have refused to cooperate with federal authorities.
He said:
“The street, it belongs to the city. If it belonged to us, we would take care of it, but it belongs to the city, and they’re barricading our employees from coming in and out of the facility… Why are we processing international flights into the airport there?"
"And we are currently, which we’re not initiating it yet, but we’re currently drawing up plans to say, listen, in these sanctuary cities where the local, radical left Democrats aren’t allowing us to do our job and enforce federal laws, then we shouldn’t be processing international flights into their cities either because they don’t want us to enforce immigration.”
You can hear what he said in the video below.
But critics have pointed out the major flaw in this plan, warning that halting the processing of international flights at certain airports would create widespread travel disruptions, likely leading to cancellations and chaos at major airline hubs that are relied upon by both Democratic- and Republican-leaning regions.
Among those criticizing the proposal was Juliette Kayyem, who worked for DHS during the Obama administration. She argued the plan would do little to affect immigration policy while severely disrupting air travel and hurting airlines.
Writing on X, Kayyem suggested the proposal appeared more like a political distraction than a serious immigration measure, noting that flights generally cannot simply reroute to alternate airports and would instead likely be canceled altogether:
"Of all the bad ideas floated by this Administration, this one ranks. It has got to be real; Mullin wouldn't waste time like this unless it is a serious distraction plan."
"Planes don't divert to other airports. The flights will be cancelled, disrupting blue and red voters, impacting the airlines, and having no impact on immigration policy. They are going to do it."
You can see her post below.
But conservatives like Fox News host Harris Faulkner are spinning this, saying that such a move would be a "boon" for red states:
"They're not just gonna not fly. They're going to go to red states and cities. A boon for red states. People will hate living in blue states."
You can hear what she said in the video below.
That doesn't make any economic sense—and Mullin and his supporters are being called out for the plan.
Airlines have so far declined to publicly weigh in on the proposal or indicate how seriously they believe the administration is considering it.
If implemented, the policy could carry major consequences for U.S. tourism and trade by disrupting international travel, even if officials delayed enforcement until after the upcoming World Cup.
Something tells us that never even crossed Mullin's mind.
@jessicachastain/Instagram
