The Trump administration is reportedly considering reducing Customs and Border Protection staffing at airports serving so-called sanctuary jurisdictions, a move that could cripple international flights at some of the busiest airports in the United States.
Trump Administration Threat To Pull Customs From “Sanctuary City” Airports Would Devastate Airlines, Passengers
The Department of Homeland Security is reportedly considering a plan to reduce or pull Customs and Border Protection staffing from airports in cities that do not cooperate with ICE to the administration’s liking.
According to The Atlantic, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin recently met with airline and travel industry executives and told them that the administration may reduce CBP staffing at major airports serving sanctuary jurisdictions. Potential airports reportedly discussed included Portland International Airport, New York-area airports like JFK and Newark, and Washington Dulles.
This follows earlier remarks Mullin made on Fox News, highlighted by One Mile at a Time, in which he suggested that sanctuary cities with international airports may not deserve to process customs arrivals.
“Seriously, if they’re sanctuary cities, and they’re receiving international flights, and we’re asking them to partner with us at the airport, but once they walk out of the airport, they’re 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.”
Can we be sober-minded for just one moment? This would not simply inconvenience local politicians in cities the administration dislikes. It would punish airlines, airports, passengers, cargo operators, tourism businesses, hotels, restaurants, convention centers, international visitors, and Americans trying to come home, not to mention tens of thousands of American workers.
It would also be a spectacularly stupid way to run an aviation system.
International Aviation Does Not Work Like This
International flights depend on CBP. If there are no CBP officers to process arriving passengers and cargo, flights cannot simply continue as normal.
An international arrival into JFK is not merely “a flight to New York.” It may carry:
- A German business traveler connecting onward to Cincinnati
- A family from Korea visiting Disney World after connecting in Los Angeles
- An American citizen returning home through Newark before flying to another state
- High-value cargo moving through a carefully planned logistics network
- Passengers connecting onto domestic flights throughout the country
Airline networks are built around hubs, customs facilities, gates, staffing, slots, aircraft rotations, and onward connections. You cannot just remove CBP from JFK, Newark, Dulles, LAX, Chicago, or Portland and expect airlines to “use another airport.”
That is not how this works.
There are only so many gates or international-capable terminals. Not every aircraft can be repositioned to travel via red states. Only so many connecting banks that can absorb thousands of displaced passengers…
If you pull customs staffing from major international airports, you do not “punish” a mayor. You break the travel system.
The Impact Would Be Devastating
Let’s use New York as an example. JFK and Newark are not just local airports. They are national and global gateways. United’s Newark hub connects travelers across the United States and around the world. JFK is a massive international gateway for Delta, JetBlue, American, and dozens of foreign carriers.
If international arrivals were curtailed or made impossible, the damage would ripple far beyond New York City.
And for what?
To pressure cities over local law-enforcement cooperation with ICE? There are proper ways for the federal government to litigate disputes with states and cities. Courts exist. Federal funding conditions exist. Political accountability exists. But using international aviation infrastructure as a hostage is reckless.
I understand the administration’s frustration with sanctuary jurisdictions. Immigration enforcement is a legitimate federal function, and there are fair debates to be had about how much local governments should cooperate with federal authorities.
But this proposal is not a serious transportation policy.
It is a pressure tactic that would hurt many people who have nothing to do with the underlying dispute and that also misunderstands how global travel flows work. CBP staffing is not a political favor to a city. It is a federal function supporting national commerce, travel, and border processing.
World Cup Timing Makes This Even More Absurd
Finally, The Atlantic reports that any pullback would likely occur after the United States finishes hosting the World Cup in July. That is telling. Even DHS seems to understand that intentionally disrupting international arrivals before or during a massive global sporting event would be catastrophic.
But the same logic applies afterward. The U.S. travel system does not become disposable when the World Cup ends. International aviation remains essential to the economy every day of the year. If the administration believes a city is violating federal law, then make that case in court. Do not threaten to kneecap international air service.
CONCLUSION
The Trump administration is reportedly considering reducing Customs and Border Protection staffing at airports serving sanctuary jurisdictions, a move that could severely disrupt international flights at airports like JFK, Newark, Dulles, and Portland.
This is madness.
Whatever you think about sanctuary cities or immigration enforcement, using customs staffing as a weapon against airports would be disastrous for airlines and passengers. It would cancel flights, disrupt connections, raise costs, delay cargo, and damage the broader U.S. economy.
Airports are not bargaining chips and international passengers are not pawns. CBP processing should not be manipulated to score political points against cities the administration dislikes.
This unserious proposal should be abandoned…
image: DHS photo by Tia Dufour
This is what happens when you promote people beyond their ability. I think they should do it. It is clear that telling these people that fire is hot is not working. They only way they learn is by touching the fire.
There would be an initial crisis, then they would back down, Trump would blame them for going on a solo run, which would make them a lot more careful before dreaming up the next mad idea.
The other possibility is that this is just a false flag distraction from the war, economy, ballroom, Epstein etc.
BTW they would shut down JFK and EWR for international flights, but LGA won’t be? LOL
The plan would be a disaster for US tourism, business travel and might even bankrupt an airline – think the national/international effects are larger than the regional ones