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The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Markwayne Mullin, proposed withdrawing Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials from international airports located in "sanctuary cities," effectively blocking the entry of foreign travelers into those jurisdictions, reported EFE.
The proposal, announced on Tuesday in an interview with Fox News —Mullin's first as DHS secretary— represents the most drastic escalation to date in the conflict between the Trump administration and the cities that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
The directly targeted airports are SFO in San Francisco, LAX in Los Angeles, JFK in New York, and O'Hare in Chicago, all located in jurisdictions with policies that prohibit their local authorities from collaborating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Without CBP personnel, these airports would be unable to process international arrivals, which would mean canceling all incoming international flights at those major hub centers, with immediate economic consequences for the affected cities.
Mullin justified the measure by directly questioning the right of these cities to receive federal support: "If they are a sanctuary city, should they really be processing customs into their city?"
The secretary also warned that he will be forced to make difficult decisions if the cities do not change their stance: "They will have to partner with us."
The proposal has not yet been implemented nor has its legal basis been confirmed, but it falls within a systematic strategy of pressure that the Trump administration has intensified since its return to the White House in January 2025.
Among the prior actions, the threats of cutting federal funding starting February 1, 2026 stand out, as noted by El País, the lawsuit filed against the city of Los Angeles, its mayor Karen Bass, and the City Council regarding their sanctuary ordinances, and the deployment of hundreds of ICE agents to more than a dozen airports in February 2026, including JFK in New York.
The federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, Bill Essayli, argued that the city "prioritizes undocumented individuals over citizens, undermining federal law."
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