Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne
Mullin’s proposal could block hubs like Boston, New York and Los Angeles from
accepting international flights.
1.
Proposal
targets sanctuary cities
o Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne
Mullin has proposed removing Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers from
airports in certain sanctuary cities that limit cooperation with federal
immigration authorities.
2.
International
flights could be disrupted
o Airports require customs officers to
process incoming international passengers and cargo.
o Removing CBP personnel would effectively
prevent affected airports from receiving international flights.
3.
Travel
and business groups warn of major disruption
o Industry organizations, including the U.S.
Travel Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, argue that the move would
create nationwide transportation and economic disruptions.
4.
Transportation
Secretary opposes the idea
o Sean P. Duffy stated that air travel
should not be disrupted because of political disagreements between federal and
local governments.
5.
White
House has not endorsed the proposal
o Although the administration has previously
challenged sanctuary-city policies, it has not formally supported the plan.
6.
Proposal
linked to immigration enforcement disputes
o Mullin argues that cities unwilling to
cooperate with federal immigration enforcement should not receive federal
customs processing services.
7.
Newark
cited as a potential target
o Mullin specifically mentioned Newark as a
city where customs officers could be reassigned if local authorities do not
cooperate with federal agencies.
8.
Major
airports could be affected
o Approximately 18 airports located in
jurisdictions identified as sanctuary cities could face disruptions.
o These include airports serving major
metropolitan areas such as:
§ Boston
§ New York City
§ Los Angeles
9.
Significant
economic impact expected
o The affected airports collectively handle
around 68 million passengers annually.
o They support tens of billions of dollars
in tourism, business travel, and trade activity.
10. Cargo operations could be severely
affected
o Several of the airports are major import
and logistics hubs, processing billions of dollars in goods.
11. Newark Airport impact estimates
o Industry groups estimate that shutting
customs operations at Newark could jeopardize:
§ Approximately US$8 billion annually in
travel spending.
§ Around US$100 million in daily imports.
12. Potential impact on major events
o Travel disruptions could affect visitors
attending upcoming international sporting events, including FIFA World Cup
matches scheduled in New Jersey.
13. Nationwide consequences possible
o Industry estimates suggest a broader
shutdown of customs operations at sanctuary-city airports could put more than
US$70 billion in U.S. economic activity at risk.
14. Contradiction with other federal
initiatives
o The proposal appears inconsistent with
recent federal efforts to expand international passenger screening at New
York's John F. Kennedy International Airport for travelers
arriving from Ebola-affected regions.
15. Discussions continue
o Federal and local authorities in New
Jersey recently reached an agreement regarding security operations around a
detention facility, potentially reducing immediate tensions.
The proposal to remove
customs officers from airports in sanctuary cities has sparked strong
opposition from airlines, travel groups, and business organizations. Critics
warn that restricting international arrivals at major gateway airports could
disrupt passenger travel, cargo flows, tourism, and trade, with potential
economic losses exceeding US$70 billion nationwide.
Travel
industry and business leaders are denouncing a proposal by Homeland Security Secretary
Markwayne Mullin to remove customs officers from airports in liberal cities, saying
it would create havoc for travelers and jeopardize the
travel economy at some of the nation’s largest ports of entry.
The
idea, which Mr. Mullin has floated on cable television interviews, is designed to
punish so-called sanctuary cities that limit their cooperation with federal immigration
authorities.
Customs
officers monitor goods flowing in and out of the country and must be on hand for
international flights. Removing customs from airports would mean they cannot accept
incoming international flights.
“Any
reduction in Customs and Border Protection operations at major U.S. gateway airports
threatens to cause unnecessary chaos throughout the nation’s air transportation
system,” a coalition of travel and business trade groups, including the U.S. Travel
Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, wrote in a statement Friday. The fallout
of making such changes at even a handful of gateway airports, the statement added,
“will quickly ripple across the country.”
Last
week, Sean P. Duffy, the transportation secretary, also told lawmakers that such
a move would be ill-advised.
“We
have people from around the world and around the country that need to be able to
fly into all different kinds of places,” he said during a hearing before a House
Appropriations subcommittee. “We shouldn’t shut down air travel in a state that
doesn’t agree with our politics.”
The
White House, despite past efforts to target sanctuary cities over their immigration
policies, has not endorsed Mr. Mullin’s plans. The Department of Homeland Security
declined to comment on the idea, beyond pointing to Mr. Mullin’s comments.
But
as the criticism has mounted, Mr. Mullin has only dug in on the proposal.
Mr.
Mullin promoted the idea multiple times last week, saying in an interview with Fox
News on Tuesday that the department was drawing up plans to withdraw officers who
process international flights in cities where “local radical left Democrats aren’t
allowing us to do our job and enforce federal laws.”
“We
shouldn’t be processing international flights into their cities either,” Mr. Mullin
said. “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.”
The
next day, Mr. Mullin claimed during an interview with Newsmax that local law enforcement
in New Jersey refused to respond after federal officials requested help following
the eruption of protests outside an immigrant detention facility in Newark. Mr.
Mullin held up that event as justification for potentially moving customs officers
“out of the airports so they can help assist to secure the area.”
“If
local law enforcement isn’t going to help, then we have to provide what assets we
have,” he said, adding: “Therefore we won’t be able to process international flights
going to those airports, because those officers will be reassigned.”
The
travel industry has said the impact of such moves, if they come to pass, is potentially
significant.
There
are 18 airports in areas that the Department of Justice has put on its list of
sanctuary cities including Boston, New York and Los Angeles. They handle a combined
68 million passengers a year, worth tens of billions in commercial activity. Some
of them are also major cargo hubs, processing billions in imports on a daily basis.
According
to travel industry representatives, shutting down customs at Newark Airport alone
would jeopardize an estimated $8 billion per year in travel spending, and an estimated
$100 million of imports on a daily basis. The city is expected to be a major destination
for travelers arriving this summer to watch World Cup
soccer games in New Jersey.
Shifting
that much traffic to other airports could wreak havoc on an already stressed system,
they add.
A
full shutdown of customs operations at airports in sanctuary cities, according to
the travel industry’s calculations, would imperil over $70 billion in U.S. economic
activity.
Mr.
Mullin’s stated plans appear to run counter to at least one recent
move the Trump administration has made to expand airport customs operations in a
sanctuary city. Last week, the administration announced it would start to
screen passengers from Ebola-stricken areas at Kennedy Airport, one of only four
airports nationwide that has been designated to try to keep the fast-moving virus
from entering the United States.
On
Thursday, Mr. Mullin said on “Fox & Friends” that the department might not pull
C.B.P. officers out of airports in every sanctuary city, but focus on cities like
Newark.
“If things don’t change, we’re going to have to
make this step pretty quick,” Mr. Mullin said when asked if he planned to pull C.B.P.
officers out of Newark.
Late
on Friday, federal officials agreed to leave the area outside the Delaney Hall detention
center in Newark as part of negotiations with the New
Jersey State Police.