{"id":161,"date":"2026-05-22T16:14:33","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T16:14:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=161"},"modified":"2026-05-22T16:14:33","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T16:14:33","slug":"dhs-chief-wants-to-halt-customs-processing-at-all-airports-in-sanctuary-cities-including-nyc-and-even-sean-duffy-is-pushing-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=161","title":{"rendered":"DHS chief wants to halt customs processing at all airports in ‘sanctuary cities’ including NYC \u2014 and even Sean Duffy is pushing back"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 Airline trade groups and even Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy have hit back at a proposal from Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin that could have a \u201cdevastating\u201d effect on travel and tourism in major blue cities. <\/p>\n

Read more How late NASCAR legend Kyle Busch got his \u2018Rowdy\u2019 nickname \u2014 and why he embraced villain role<\/a><\/p>\n

Mullin floated the plan to halt customs processing at \u201csanctuary city\u201d airports that refuse to cooperate with the Trump administration\u2019s immigration agenda in an April Fox News interview \u2014 and again in a May 13 meeting with airline and travel industry leaders, The Atlantic first reported.<\/p>\n

Top travel trade associations have since come out publicly against the proposal, which was reportedly aimed at airports in New York City, Newark, Philadelphia, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco.<\/p>\n

\u201cReducing CBP staffing at major airports would have a devastating effect on the airline and tourism industries, causing a significant operational disruption to carriers, travelers and the flow of international cargo,\u201d Airlines for America, the largest trade association for the industry in the US, said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The US Travel Association, which represents airlines as well as hotels and other travel businesses, said that for \u201cdomestic \u2060and international inbound travel alike, we urge governments at all levels to adopt policies that promote the \u200bfree and efficient flow of legitimate travelers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Duffy himself batted down the suggestion in a House Budget Committee hearing on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have people from around the world and around the country that need to be able to fly into all different kinds of places,\u201d the cabinet official said. \u201cWe shouldn\u2019t shut down air travel in a state that doesn\u2019t agree with our politics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Around 50 million international travelers landed at the Big Apple\u2019s three main airports alone in 2025.<\/p>\n

Read more Pakistan defense chief en route to Iran as reported peace framework circulates<\/a><\/p>\n

In the April 6 Fox interview, Mullin had openly questioned whether sanctuary cities with international airports should \u201cbe processing customs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSeriously, if they\u2019re a sanctuary city, and they\u2019re receiving international flights, and we\u2019re asking them to partner with us at the airport but once [immigrants] walk out of the airport they\u2019re not going to enforce immigration policy, maybe we need to have a really hard look at that because we need to focus on cities that want to work with us,\u201d he told Fox News chief political anchor and \u201cSpecial Report\u201d host Bret Baier.<\/p>\n

Asked whether cities would lose customs enforcement for international travelers, the DHS secretary responded: \u201cWe\u2019re gonna have to start prioritizing things at some point.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, remember, the Democrats are wanting to defund Customs and Border Patrol,\u201d Mullin added.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

President Trump has railed against sanctuary jurisdictions for refusing to coordinate with federal immigration enforcement \u2014 and threatened in January to pull all their funding.<\/p>\n

Critics have argued that\u00a0sanctuary policies prevent the deportation of violent criminals\u00a0when prisons and jails ignore \u201cdetainer\u201d requests from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.<\/p>\n

In August, the Department of Justice published a list of 12 states and 18 cities that are non-cooperative with such requests. Four of those cities \u2014 Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles and New York \u2014 are also home to four of the six busiest airports in America by 2025 self-reported passenger volume, <\/p>\n

Read more How Kevin Warsh will navigate his tricky new position as Fed chairman under Trump<\/a><\/p>\n

Reps for DHS declined to comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Airline trade groups and even Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy are bristling at a proposal from Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin that would halt customs processing at “sanctuary city” airports refusing to cooperate with the Trump administration’s immigration agenda.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":160,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nDHS chief wants to halt customs processing at all airports in 'sanctuary cities' including NYC \u2014 and even Sean Duffy is pushing back - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=161\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DHS chief wants to halt customs processing at all airports in 'sanctuary cities' including NYC \u2014 and even Sean Duffy is pushing back - 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