Airlines and major travel industry organizations are pushing back against a proposal from Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to cut Customs and Border Protection (CBP) services at airports in cities designated as 'sanctuary cities.' This move, intended to punish cities that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, is vehemently opposed by groups like Airlines for America, which represents carriers including American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines. They argue that such cuts would cause "havoc" for international travel and have a devastating impact on the airline and tourism industries.
The industry warns that removing customs agents from key international gateways like Newark Liberty International Airport, New York-JFK, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, and Philadelphia would cripple international flight operations. These 18 airports in sanctuary cities collectively handle an estimated 68 million international passengers annually and billions of dollars in commercial activity. For example, a shutdown at Newark alone could jeopardize an estimated $8 billion per year in travel spending and $100 million in daily imports, with particular concern for upcoming World Cup soccer games in New Jersey.
The U.S. Travel Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have also joined the chorus of opposition, stating that a full shutdown of customs operations at these airports would imperil over $70 billion in U.S. economic activity. They highlight that shifting this volume of traffic to other airports would overwhelm an already strained system and that expanding current facilities at smaller airports would be a costly and time-consuming endeavor. Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have also criticized the deployment of ICE officers in airports, citing concerns about confusion and fear among travelers.
