WASHINGTON — Airline industry groups and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy have strongly criticized a proposal by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, which they believe could severely impact travel and tourism in major Democratic-run cities.
Mullin suggested stopping customs processing at airports in “sanctuary cities” that do not align with the Trump administration’s immigration policies. This idea was shared during an April interview on Fox News and reiterated in a May 13 meeting with leaders from the airline and travel sectors, as initially reported by The Atlantic.
Leading travel trade organizations have publicly opposed this plan, which targets airports in cities such as New York City, Newark, Philadelphia, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Seattle, and San Francisco.
“Reducing Customs and Border Protection staffing at major airports would severely disrupt the airline and tourism industries, significantly affecting airline operations, travelers, and international cargo flow,” stated Airlines for America, the largest trade association representing the US airline industry.
The US Travel Association, which includes airlines, hotels, and other travel-related businesses, emphasized the importance of policies that support the “free and efficient flow of legitimate travelers” for both domestic and international travel.
During a House Budget Committee hearing on Thursday, Duffy himself dismissed the proposal.
âWe have people from around the world and around the country that need to be able to fly into all different kinds of places,â the cabinet official said. âWe shouldnât shut down air travel in a state that doesnât agree with our politics.â
Around 50 million international travelers landed at the Big Apple’s three main airports alone in 2025.
In the April 6 Fox interview, Mullin had openly questioned whether sanctuary cities with international airports should “be processing customs.”
âSeriously, if theyâre a sanctuary city, and theyâre receiving international flights, and weâre asking them to partner with us at the airport but once [immigrants] walk out of the airport theyâre 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,â he told Fox News chief political anchor and “Special Report” host Bret Baier.
Asked whether cities would lose customs enforcement for international travelers, the DHS secretary responded: âWeâre gonna have to start prioritizing things at some point.â
âRight now, remember, the Democrats are wanting to defund Customs and Border Patrol,” Mullin added.
President Trump has railed against sanctuary jurisdictions for refusing to coordinate with federal immigration enforcement â and threatened in January to pull all their funding.
Critics have argued that sanctuary policies prevent the deportation of violent criminals when prisons and jails ignore âdetainerâ requests from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In August, the Department of Justice published a list of 12 states and 18 cities that are non-cooperative with such requests. Four of those cities — Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles and New York — are also home to four of the six busiest airports in America by 2025 self-reported passenger volume,
Reps for DHS declined to comment.
