DHS Secretary Floats Pulling CBP Officers From Sanctuary City Airports; DHS Workers to Receive Paychecks
New Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin suggested he may remove or limit U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at airports in cities that restrict cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.
“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," Secretary Mullin told Fox News.
Should that happen international travel could be disrupted at some of the busiest airports in the world including New York’s JFK Airport, San Francisco International, Los Angeles International, and Chicago O’Hare.
Secretary Mullin said DHS would prioritize working with cities and counties that cooperate with federal immigration enforcement officers.
"I am not going outside the policies that Congress passed for me, and we're not trying to push those, but we're saying you've got to partner with us," said Secretary Mullin.
Immigration policy experts expressed concern, even as they said such a move is not likely to happen.
“I did some research. By administration’s own definitions this would end international air travel at US airports where about 58 percent of international traffic happens,” Todd Schulte, president of the pro-immigration political advocacy organization FWD, wrote on X, “so would crash economy (hence won’t happen). [But] it’s very bad it even gets floated!”
Paychecks Coming as Shutdown Continues
The comments come as DHS remains shut down and Congress is in recess until the week of April 13.
DHS employees will start receiving paychecks for backpay on Friday, April 10, with all checks expected to be delivered by Thursday, April 16.
Furloughed and excepted employees will be paid their full salaries covering the start of the shutdown on February 14 through April 4, the end of the last full pay period. The paychecks come after President Trump issued a memo ordering DHS and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to find a way to make the payments.
Prospects for Quick Congressional Deal Dim
Before the recess, the Senate twice passed a bill funding DHS minus Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and CBP, sending it to the House for consideration.
After resisting the first time, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) supported the legislation. But some more conservative members are demanding that funding for ICE and CBP be taken care of before moving forward.
"We cannot leave ICE and CBP hanging with nothing but hopes and prayers that reconciliation 2.0 comes together," the House Freedom Caucus wrote. "That’s why we must use reconciliation to fully fund all of the Department of Homeland Security."
