The Trump administration is considering a new plan to pressure sanctuary cities to change their ways.
In his first interview since his confirmation, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Monday that he’s weighing pulling Customs officers from major airports in sanctuary cities to force them to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. The move would effectively prevent international travel through those airports.
“I believe sanctuary cities is not lawful,” Mullin told Fox News’ Bret Baier. “I don’t think they’re able to do that, and so we’re gonna take a hard look at this.”
He pointed specifically to international airports as a potential pressure point.
“If they’re sanctuary cities, should they really be processing Customs into their city?” Mullin asked. “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 gonna 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.”
President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement effort has targeted some sanctuary cities by flooding them with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and Border Patrol agents. One such operation took place in Chicago last year, where local authorities are restricted from working with ICE.
Mullin suggested the potential policy change comes alongside broader resource constraints and political battles in Washington, including a partial government shutdown over Democrats’ demands to dramatically reform ICE.
“We’re gonna have to start prioritizing things at some point,” Mullin said.
“Right now, a number of the Democrats are wanting to defund Customs and Border Patrol. Well, who processes those individuals when they walk off a plane? And so I’m gonna have to be forced to make hard decisions,” he added.
Mullin: I believe sanctuary cities is not lawful. Some of these cities have international airports. If they are a sanctuary city, should they really be processing customs into their city? We need to have a really hard look at that.
Baier: So you are saying that big cities that… pic.twitter.com/UAJxWFZtZI
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 6, 2026
During his confirmation hearing last month, Mullin offered a willingness to implement “a better approach” for ICE, saying he “would love to see” the agency “become a transport more than the frontline.”
“If we can get back into just simply working with law enforcement, we’re going to them and we’re picking up these criminals from their jail. One, we’re gonna reimburse them for having the person there, and that partnership is vitally important,” he said.
