Markwayne Mullin Draws Up Plans To Halt International Flights At Newark Over ICE Protests

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has said his office is “drawing up” plans to pull Customs and Border Protection agents from airports in “sanctuary” cities, which would make it illegal for international flights to land there.

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Mullin tied the move to protests outside an immigrant detention center in Newark, N.J., where demonstrators claim conditions are inhumane, and he dismissed those claims while pointing to Newark’s airport handling 24.5 million international passengers last year.

CBS News

In a separate account, Mullin told Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity that “They’re barricading our employees from coming in and out of the facility. Then, why are we processing international flights into the airport there?”

The NewsNation report said the cities potentially affected include New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, Denver, San Francisco and Seattle, and it added that without customs agents on the ground, critics said the flights would be canceled outright rather than diverted.

CNN reported that Mullin’s plan to punish sanctuary jurisdictions by targeting their airports is facing “fierce headwinds,” including public opposition from a fellow Cabinet secretary and the fact it has not yet been greenlit by the White House.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy criticized the approach during a recent congressional hearing, saying, “We shouldn’t shut down air travel in a state that doesn’t agree with our politics,” according to CNN.

CNN

CNN also quoted Mullin telling Fox News earlier this week that if “radical left Democrats” aren’t allowing federal authorities to enforce immigration laws, “then we shouldn’t be processing international flights into their cities either.”

NewsNation said Newark’s mayor rejected the premise linking protests to airport operations, telling NewsNation there is “no correlation between the right of peaceful assembly and the orderly operation of an international airport.”

NewsNation said the threat arrives just weeks before the FIFA World Cup brings millions of international visitors to the United States, and it described fallout that would ripple beyond targeted airports to airlines and businesses nationwide.

“(NewsNation) — Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin says his office is “drawing up” plans to pull Customs and Border Protection agents from airports in “sanctuary” cities, which would make it illegal for international flights to land there”

NewsNation

CNN reported that the plan would have “huge implications for trade and tourism within the US,” and it said cascading disruptions could affect large and small American airports in red states and blue states.

CNN also said the US Travel Association told reporters it met with Mullin and that he “confirmed his previous comments that the administration is considering a withdrawal” of customs agents at some major international airports.

Across the same dispute, Airlines for America warned that reducing Customs and Border Protection staffing at major airports would have a “devastating effect on the airline and tourism industries,” while NewsNation said Mullin stressed the plans have not been initiated yet.