OPINION
Behind a Trump aide's surreal plan to shut down travel —and sink the U.S. economy
Markwayne Mullin wipes tears as he speaks about his son during testimony before a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 18, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci
The U.S. airports where international travelers and cargo first arrive are often not their final destination. A German business traveler flying into JFK may be en route to a meeting in Cincinnati.
A Korean family landing at Los Angeles International Airport could be headed for Disney World. The proportion of economic pain imposed on sanctuary cities might be relatively small compared with the wider ripple effects on the U.S. travel industry.
A massive economic hit for the country—and global travel—but also for the GOP, as if the party doesn’t have enough problems heading into the midterms. On top of everything else, disrupting air travel domestically and internationally, upending cargo and deliveries in addition to vacations and business travel, would enrage voters. And then we could see the economy plummet as inflation spikes way higher than it has in recent months under Trump.
But this administration has done so much to harm itself and the GOP while thinking they’re only hurting their opponents that none of us should immediately assume it’s all a bluff.
Markwayne Mullin wipes tears as he speaks about his son during testimony before a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 18, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci
May 31, 2026
You may have thought the dog-killing Kristi Noem was the worst that the Trump administration could get for Homeland Security Secretary.
But here is former Oklahoma senator Markwayne Mullin and current DHS secretary, who doubled down last week on Fox on a threat to shut down Customs and Border Patrol processing of flights at major international airports located in “sanctuary cities”—in other words, cities that direct their local law enforcement not to engage in immigration and detention efforts by working with federal agents.
It’s not, however, just about working with local law enforcement on immigration. Mullen—and Trump—want cities and states to agree with them completely on mass deportation to the point of shutting down protest. We’ve been here before, when federal agents tried to shut down protests in Minneapolis and executed two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, in the streets.
Now they’re putting a gun to the heads of entire cities and states. Mullen was angry about a protest in New Jersey at a detention facility in Newark, where dozens of demonstrators—including U.S. Senator Andy Kim—were cruelly pepper-sprayed. Basically, Mullen wants the protests stopped, and if they’re not, he’ll stop the processing of travelers on flights into cities that don’t collaborate with Trump’s fascistic actions.
Though Mullen says CBP agents “process immigration,” CBP’s job at airports is actually to make sure only U.S. citizens or foreign visitors with visas—tourist visas, work visas, or permanent residency visas—are entering the country. They’re not “processing” anyone’s “immigration” but rather processing travelers arriving on international flights.
This could all be a lot of bluster, or the Trump regime may just be stupid enough to believe that by not processing visitors on international flights to certain cities—causing chaos and sending many flights to other cities while canceling many others—it will only economically harm blue cities in the blue states they’re targeting. That would be a gross misunderstanding of the global economic ecosystem. But then again, Trump and his aides didn’t think about that when it came to tariffs, so maybe they are in fact that stupid.
Airlines would be canceling flights, and havoc would play out all across America, affecting everyone in every red state as much as anyone in any blue state. An economy that is already teetering would come crashing down into a recession.
The U.S. Travel Association told PBS News that Mullin warned the group in a meeting that he is considering withdrawing CBP officers at the airports in question. The group immediately condemned this crazy scheme, as did all of the major airlines.
Even Trump’s own transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, wasn’t on the same page:
Duffy told a Congressional hearing earlier this week that…it would be a bad idea to start restricting travel based on political views. After all, at some point Democrats will be in charge and “you will all switch spots at one point — hopefully not too soon Mr. Chairman,” Duffy said.
“We have people from around the world and around the country that need to be able to fly into all different kinds of places. We shouldn’t shut down air travel in a state that doesn’t agree with our politics,” Duffy said.
This wouldn’t be the first time, however, that the Trump Transportation Department would be in conflict with Homeland Security. Back in February, the El Paso airport was shut down briefly after a dispute between the FAA (which is part of the Transportation Department) and DHS (and the Pentagon) when DHS and the Pentagon went ahead with testing high-energy, anti-drone laser technology at nearbly Fort Bliss against the FAA’s warnings, leading to the shutdown of the airport.
Airline trade groups warn that if Mullen moved forward, there would be a devastating economic impact, including disrupting billions of dollars in cargo shipments. We’d be back to the supply chain disruption of the pandemic—which drove inflation to 9%.
As Nick Miroff at The Atlantic reports, millions of passengers would also be stranded, and there would be a ripple effect all through the country, to airports in deeply red states.
Mullin’s proposal appears to reflect a thin grasp of global-travel logistics, as well as an inflated sense of the government’s ability to impose economic pain on specific cities, according to industry executives and former DHS officials I spoke with.
You may have thought the dog-killing Kristi Noem was the worst that the Trump administration could get for Homeland Security Secretary.
But here is former Oklahoma senator Markwayne Mullin and current DHS secretary, who doubled down last week on Fox on a threat to shut down Customs and Border Patrol processing of flights at major international airports located in “sanctuary cities”—in other words, cities that direct their local law enforcement not to engage in immigration and detention efforts by working with federal agents.
It’s not, however, just about working with local law enforcement on immigration. Mullen—and Trump—want cities and states to agree with them completely on mass deportation to the point of shutting down protest. We’ve been here before, when federal agents tried to shut down protests in Minneapolis and executed two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, in the streets.
Now they’re putting a gun to the heads of entire cities and states. Mullen was angry about a protest in New Jersey at a detention facility in Newark, where dozens of demonstrators—including U.S. Senator Andy Kim—were cruelly pepper-sprayed. Basically, Mullen wants the protests stopped, and if they’re not, he’ll stop the processing of travelers on flights into cities that don’t collaborate with Trump’s fascistic actions.
Though Mullen says CBP agents “process immigration,” CBP’s job at airports is actually to make sure only U.S. citizens or foreign visitors with visas—tourist visas, work visas, or permanent residency visas—are entering the country. They’re not “processing” anyone’s “immigration” but rather processing travelers arriving on international flights.
This could all be a lot of bluster, or the Trump regime may just be stupid enough to believe that by not processing visitors on international flights to certain cities—causing chaos and sending many flights to other cities while canceling many others—it will only economically harm blue cities in the blue states they’re targeting. That would be a gross misunderstanding of the global economic ecosystem. But then again, Trump and his aides didn’t think about that when it came to tariffs, so maybe they are in fact that stupid.
Airlines would be canceling flights, and havoc would play out all across America, affecting everyone in every red state as much as anyone in any blue state. An economy that is already teetering would come crashing down into a recession.
The U.S. Travel Association told PBS News that Mullin warned the group in a meeting that he is considering withdrawing CBP officers at the airports in question. The group immediately condemned this crazy scheme, as did all of the major airlines.
Even Trump’s own transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, wasn’t on the same page:
Duffy told a Congressional hearing earlier this week that…it would be a bad idea to start restricting travel based on political views. After all, at some point Democrats will be in charge and “you will all switch spots at one point — hopefully not too soon Mr. Chairman,” Duffy said.
“We have people from around the world and around the country that need to be able to fly into all different kinds of places. We shouldn’t shut down air travel in a state that doesn’t agree with our politics,” Duffy said.
This wouldn’t be the first time, however, that the Trump Transportation Department would be in conflict with Homeland Security. Back in February, the El Paso airport was shut down briefly after a dispute between the FAA (which is part of the Transportation Department) and DHS (and the Pentagon) when DHS and the Pentagon went ahead with testing high-energy, anti-drone laser technology at nearbly Fort Bliss against the FAA’s warnings, leading to the shutdown of the airport.
Airline trade groups warn that if Mullen moved forward, there would be a devastating economic impact, including disrupting billions of dollars in cargo shipments. We’d be back to the supply chain disruption of the pandemic—which drove inflation to 9%.
As Nick Miroff at The Atlantic reports, millions of passengers would also be stranded, and there would be a ripple effect all through the country, to airports in deeply red states.
Mullin’s proposal appears to reflect a thin grasp of global-travel logistics, as well as an inflated sense of the government’s ability to impose economic pain on specific cities, according to industry executives and former DHS officials I spoke with.
The U.S. airports where international travelers and cargo first arrive are often not their final destination. A German business traveler flying into JFK may be en route to a meeting in Cincinnati.
A Korean family landing at Los Angeles International Airport could be headed for Disney World. The proportion of economic pain imposed on sanctuary cities might be relatively small compared with the wider ripple effects on the U.S. travel industry.
A massive economic hit for the country—and global travel—but also for the GOP, as if the party doesn’t have enough problems heading into the midterms. On top of everything else, disrupting air travel domestically and internationally, upending cargo and deliveries in addition to vacations and business travel, would enrage voters. And then we could see the economy plummet as inflation spikes way higher than it has in recent months under Trump.
But this administration has done so much to harm itself and the GOP while thinking they’re only hurting their opponents that none of us should immediately assume it’s all a bluff.
Morning Joe, Image via Screengrab.
May 29, 2026
ALTERNET
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is drawing vehement criticism for essentially threatening to halt international flights in and out of Democrat-controlled cities if they oppose President Donald Trump's immigration policies. And some of the criticism is coming from conservative MS NOW host Joe Scarborough, who had a scathing response to Mullin's threat during a Friday morning broadcast of "Morning Joe."
Mullin told Fox News that if "radical left Democrats" defied Trump's immigration policies, "we shouldn't be processing international flights into their cities." And Scarborough warned that if Mullin's idea were actually implemented, it would have dire consequences for the U.S. economy and international air travel.
Scarborough, a former GOP congressman, told fellow "Morning Joe" host Mika Brzezinski, "It makes your teeth hurt, the stupidity…. (Mullin) wants to…. totally screw up international commerce. I mean, it is really bizarre how backward these people are, and they are focusing on all the wrong things — which may be why the president has his lowest approval rating. Well, the lowest approval rating of any president, according to Gallup, since Richard Nixon in the midst of Watergate."
The Never Trump conservative continued, "Maybe he should get people in place that actually focus on the right things instead of these bizarre things like shutting down or disrupting flights at Newark (International Airport). It's just crazy."
A Fox News anchor pointed out that "pulling CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) out of airports" in major cities run by Democrats "would effectively be the end of international travel into big airports like LAX, San Francisco, Boston Logan, JFK, Newark, Chicago, Philly, Seattle, many others."
Scarborough and Lemire emphasized that removing international flights from major U.S. cities would have dire economic consequences way beyond those cities.
Lemire told Scarbrough and Brzezinski, "It's like you saw the economic paralysis that came from the Strait of Hormuz closing and said, 'Oh, let's bring that home. Let's do some of that here.' Because…. it would have such impact beyond these handful of blue cities, these sanctuary cities the DHS wants to punish. Travel executives have warned the government about that. Others in the industry have. Even some Republicans have quietly expressed some reservations, like: look, this pain is not going to be limited to the handful of cities and states you want it to be. We're going to feel it around the country and beyond."
The MS NOW host continued, "So perhaps, Mika, they'll be talked out of this particular idea."
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