Markwayne Mullin suggests airports in sanctuary cities could face restrictions on international travel. Would PHL be impacted?
Mullin did not name any sanctuary cities or airports, but Philadelphia is on President Donald Trump's list of sanctuary jurisdictions that could have federal funding pulled if policies aren't changed.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwaye Mullin is weighing whether to restrict major airports in sanctuary cities from processing international travelers.
Mullin, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate last month, told Fox News Monday that his department will scrutinize customs enforcement at major airports in jurisdictions known as sanctuary cities that limit cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Mullin did not name any particular sanctuary cities or airports, but Philadelphia is on President Donald Trump administration’s list of so-called sanctuary jurisdictions that could have federal funding pulled if policies aren’t changed.
If Mullin’s proposal comes to fruition and includes Philadelphia, millions of international travelers at Philadelphia International Airport could potentially be impacted. Last year at PHL, more than 4.1 million passengers traveled to and from international destinations.
Parts of PHL, including international Terminal A-West, are technically in Delaware County, which was on the Trump administration’s original list of sanctuary jurisdictions before it was later removed.
Representatives for PHL did not return a request for comment.
“If they’re a sanctuary city should they really be processing customs into their city?” Mullin said. “Seriously. 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 the airport, they’re not going to enforce immigration policy? Maybe we need to have a really hard look at that.”
The secretary told Fox that his department will also continue to “take a hard look” at sanctuary cities broadly, with Mullin saying that he believes such jurisdictions are “not lawful.”
Mullin’s comments are some of his first policy-related remarks since he was appointed by Trump after his predecessor, Kristi Noem, was ousted amid outrage over ICE’s extreme tactics and questions about her leadership.
Upon his confirmation in March, Mullin stepped in to the helm at a department riddled with controversy and more than a month into a government funding lapse that caused long lines and increased TSA absences as employees struggled for weeks to afford coming to work.
Federal agents from ICE — the agency at the center of lawmakers’ disagreement over funding DHS — were deployed to airports, including PHL, in an attempt to help with crowd control and other logistics.
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa) was an early supporter of Trump’s nomination of Mullin — a former U.S. senator from Oklahoma — and cast the deciding vote in advancing his nomination.
Fetterman did not immediately comment on Mullin’s suggestion that sanctuary cities could be restricted from receiving international travelers.