DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said officials are preparing a proposal that would stop processing international flights in sanctuary cities where local authorities obstruct federal immigration enforcement.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Tuesday that officials are developing a plan that could block international flight processing in sanctuary cities where local leaders refuse to help federal immigration authorities enforce the law.
Mullin made the remarks during an appearance on Fox News Channel’s “Hannity”, after discussing unrest outside a federal facility in Newark and what he described as a failure by local and state law enforcement to respond when federal officials requested assistance.
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The proposal, Mullin said, is not yet being implemented, but is being drafted after discussions with the White House. He said the plan would apply to cities that restrict cooperation with federal immigration authorities while still relying on federal agencies to process international arrivals through local airports.
Mullin said the issue came into focus after protesters allegedly blocked roads near the Newark facility and attempted to get through gates while federal personnel sought help from law enforcement.
“[W]e called for assistance — for the police, because they were barricading the roads and they were trying to get through the gates. Not one time did the police respond, not a single time did the local P.D. or state police [respond] to our call for assistance,” Mullin said.
He said the lack of response raised broader questions about whether federal officials should continue processing international flights in cities where local authorities oppose immigration enforcement.
“[Y]ou just can’t make sense out of this, especially the fact that local law enforcement wouldn’t respond,” Mullin said. “And so, I visited with the White House today, Sean. And I said, if they’re going to not allow us to go out and arrest the worst of the worst and then when we call for assistance at the facilities that the street, it belonged 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, then why are we processing international flights into the airport there?”
Mullin said officials are now preparing language for a potential policy response aimed at sanctuary jurisdictions.
“And I — we are currently, which we’re not initiat[ing] 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,” he said.
The DHS secretary argued that cities cannot oppose federal immigration enforcement while still expecting federal officials to handle immigration processing connected to international travel.
“Because they don’t want us to enforce immigration, but they want us to process immigration at their facilities? Nothing about that makes sense to me,” Mullin said.
The remarks signal a possible escalation in the Trump administration’s confrontation with sanctuary cities, particularly those where local officials limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Mullin framed the issue as one of operational consistency and public safety, saying federal agencies should not be expected to process international arrivals in jurisdictions that he said prevent them from carrying out immigration enforcement duties.
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