Washington, United States. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the Trump administration is drawing up plans to stop processing international travelers and cargo at major U.S. airports in “sanctuary cities” that have declined to cooperate with an immigration crackdown. He said no decision has been made on whether to proceed.
Plan under consideration
Mullin told Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity in an interview broadcast on Tuesday that he had met White House officials. He said, “We are currently – which we’re not initiating yet – but we’re currently drawing up plans.”
“We shouldn’t be processing international flights into their cities,” he added, referring to sanctuary cities, where he said “local radical left Democrats aren’t allowing us to do our job and enforce federal laws.”
Potential impact on airports
The move could effectively halt international air travel and commerce at major airports in Democratic states, with millions of foreign tourists expected to arrive for next month’s start of the FIFA World Cup.
Last week, Reuters and other media reported that Mullin had privately told U.S. travel executives his department could opt to stop customs and immigration processing of international travelers.
Cities named in sanctuary list
The U.S. Justice Department published a list of so-called sanctuary cities and states that included many cities with major international airports, among them Boston, Denver, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Newark, Seattle and San Francisco.
Mullin first publicly made the threat in April during a dispute over funding for his department, and said on Tuesday the idea was under active consideration.
Democratic response
Democrats say reforms are needed to rein in abuses by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, including the killing of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis in January.