DHS Secretary Mullin Floats Reviewing CBP Staffing at Sanctuary Cities' International Airports to Prioritize Cooperative Jurisdictions
Cover image from rawstory.com, which was analyzed for this article
New DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin warned sanctuary cities they risk losing CBP and immigration services at international airports if they don't cooperate on enforcement. The move pressures cities like NYC to partner or face disruptions. It ties into broader immigration crackdowns.
PoliticalOS
Tuesday, April 7, 2026 — Politics
DHS Secretary Mullin proposed scrutinizing CBP at sanctuary airports to enforce cooperation amid funding shortages, echoing past Trump policies but raising untested legal questions. Critics decry overreach based on prior court blocks, while no formal action or city responses have emerged. The idea highlights tensions in immigration enforcement, with economic risks to major hubs if pursued.
What outlets missed
Most outlets downplayed specific legal precedents distinguishing airport staffing from prior grant withholdings, such as the lack of rulings on CBP operational reallocations under 8 U.S.C. § 1357. They omitted bipartisan aspects of the Senate's unanimous DHS funding vote on March 27, 2026, framing it solely as Democratic defunding. Coverage largely ignored potential passenger volume impacts at hubs like JFK (12.5 million international arrivals in 2025) and responses—or lack thereof—from airport authorities. Detailed timelines of Mullin's confirmation (March 28, 2026) and related SFO ICE incident (March 2026) were absent.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, confirmed by the Senate in late March 2026 following a confirmation hearing on March 18, 2026, suggested on April 6, 2026, during an interview on Fox News' 'Special Report' with anchor Bret Baier that the Department of Homeland Security may need to scrutinize Customs and Border Protection (CBP) operations at international airports in sanctuary cities. Mullin stated, 'I believe sanctuary cities is not lawful,' adding, '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.' He emphasized prioritizing resources for cooperative areas, saying, 'We need to focus on cities that want to work with us.'
Baier pressed Mullin on whether major hubs like those in New York City, Los Angeles or San Francisco could lose customs processing, to which Mullin replied, 'I'm going to be forced to make tough decisions.' Mullin linked the idea to ongoing congressional funding battles, noting, 'Democrats are wanting to defund Customs and Border Protection,' and 'who processes those individuals when they walk off the plane?' He clarified, 'I'm not going outside the policies that Congress has passed for me... you've got to partner with us.' The comments came amid a partial government funding lapse affecting DHS, with the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026.
Coverage spans from Raw Story's left-leaning outrage, portraying Mullin as 'absolutely nuts' with critic monopoly and punitive framing, to Gateway Pundit's right-wing celebration of confrontation via loaded anti-sanctuary rhetoric. The Hill occupies a centrist-to-right middle, emphasizing cooperation and GOP context without backlash. Overall, tonal range amplifies drama on left and vindication on right, with less policy depth across the board.
Behind the Coverage
rawstory.com
thegatewaypundit.com
Most biased
thehill.com
Least biased
What each outlet got wrong
rawstory.com
Raw Story framed Mullin's proposal as punitive retaliation using loaded terms like 'punish cities' and 'strip staffing from their international ports of entry,' with a sensational title 'Trump's new DHS chief raises eyebrows during Fox News interview: "Absolutely nuts"' that amplifies social media outrage from critics. It stacked one-sided critics like David J. Bier calling Mullin a 'complete corrupt partisan official' without balancing quotes from supporters.
Our version: The neutral version quotes Mullin directly on prioritizing resources for 'cities that want to work with us,' includes legal nuances on CBP discretion versus past grant withholdings, and presents both critics and context without dysphemistic framing.
thegatewaypundit.com
Gateway Pundit used inflammatory editorial language like 'hit Democrat-run cities where it hurts most' and 'no more free rides for cities that have spent years shielding violent criminals, MS-13 members, and gotaways,' escalating Mullin's 'hard look' into a firm 'threat' in the title 'DHS Secretary Mullin Threatens to Remove CBP Operation... Until They Stop Harboring Illegals.'
Our version: The neutral version avoids unsubstantiated claims of crime waves, notes court rulings upholding sanctuary policies against funding conditions, and clarifies Mullin's focus on partnership amid funding limits without partisan editorializing.
thehill.com
The Hill softened the framing with a title 'Mullin to cities with international airports: “You’ve got to partner with us”' emphasizing cooperation, relied exclusively on GOP sources like Mullin, Noem, and an unverified claim of Pam Bondi's warning letter to 32 jurisdictions, and omitted opposition voices.
Our version: The neutral version includes the bipartisan unanimous Senate funding vote details, legal precedents like Ninth Circuit rulings blocking similar efforts, specific affected airports, and critics like Bier and Kennedy for balance.
Facts outlets left out
The Senate unanimously passed (100-0) a bill on March 27, 2026, funding most DHS operations but excluding ICE and Border Patrol, which House Republicans rejected.
Omitted by: rawstory.com, thegatewaypundit.com
Federal courts, including the Ninth Circuit in City and County of San Francisco v. Trump (2019), have upheld sanctuary policies and blocked Trump-era funding conditions for non-cooperation.
Omitted by: thegatewaypundit.com, thehill.com
No public DOJ record confirms Former AG Pam Bondi's August 2025 warning letter to 32 sanctuary jurisdictions.
Omitted by: rawstory.com, thegatewaypundit.com
Major affected airports like JFK (NYC), LAX (LA), and SFO (San Francisco) handle millions of international passengers annually, with no formal DHS policy statement issued.
Omitted by: rawstory.com, thehill.com
Framing tricks we caught
Loaded headline
“Rawstory.com: 'Trump's new DHS chief raises eyebrows during Fox News interview: "Absolutely nuts"' borrows critic Thomas Kennedy's quote to sensationalize backlash.”
Neutral alternative: The neutral version uses descriptive title 'DHS Mullin Threatens Sanctuary Cities' Airport Operations' and integrates critics' quotes amid full context without leading with outrage.
Dysphemistic language
“Gatewaypundit.com: 'hit Democrat-run cities where it hurts most' and 'shielding violent criminals, MS-13 members, and gotaways' editorializes unquoted impacts like 'crime waves, hospital overloads.'”
Neutral alternative: The neutral version sticks to Mullin's words like 'focus on cities that want to work with us' and notes a specific SFO incident factually without unsubstantiated generalizations.
One-sided sourcing
“Thehill.com relies solely on Mullin, Noem, Bondi, and Trump actions, framing as 'partner with us' without critics like Cato's David J. Bier calling it lacking authority.”
Neutral alternative: The neutral version balances GOP context with critics, legal experts, bipartisan funding facts, and no-response notes from sanctuary officials.