DHS Sec Mullin may strip international customs from airports in sanctuary cities

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has said that sanctuary cities with international airports may lose their customs, saying his department needs to have a "really hard look" at cities that partner with the DHS for customs, but won't enforce immigration policy once a person steps foot outside the airport.

"One area we may take a hard look at is some of these cities have international airports. If they are sanctuary cities, should they really be processing customs into their city? Seriously, If they’re a sanctuary city 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."

When asked if this meant customs at airports in sanctuary jurisdictions were at risk, Mullin replied, "Well, I'm saying we're gonna have to start prioritizing things at some point. Right now, remember, the Democrats are wanting to defund Customs and Border Patrol. Well, who processes those individuals when they walk off the plane?"

"So I'm gonna have to be forced to make hard decisions, who's willing to work with us and partner with us? Once again, I'm not going outside the policies that Congress passed for me, and we're not trying to push those, but we're saying that you got to partner with us," he added. 

Mullin was confirmed as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security in late March, after the department’s former head, Kristi Noem, was ousted. His confirmation comes amid a weeks-long shutdown of his department, as funding for the DHS has stalled in Congress. 

Among those who have been affected by the lapse in funding is the TSA, which led to hours-long wait times for security at airports. In an effort to cut down on wait times, Trump ordered ICE to assist at airports. He also signed an order directing the DHS to pay TSA agents. DHS and ICE were funded under the One Big Beautiful Bill signed by Trump in August.