Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin recently suggested that U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials would stop processing passengers at major airports in sanctuary cities.
Mullin mentioned that U.S. regions refusing to cooperate with President Donald J. Trump’s immigration policies may see customs officials removed from their airports. If implemented, this would prevent international traffic.
Due to the fact that the Trump administration has classified San Francisco, and California as a whole, as “sanctuary jurisdictions,” Mullin’s comments drew predictable backlash in the state.
In a social media post, California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote, “If you thought the economy was bad with Trump’s war driving prices at the pump up… just wait until international travel is halted at some of the busiest airports in the world.” Meanwhile, Sonoma State University political professor David McCuan cited the 10th amendment in falsely claiming that the federal government cannot tell local governments what to do. This continues the time-honored tradition of liberals pretending to believe in local control when convenient to score rhetorical points, as though cities flouting immigration law is legitimate.
As of now, no concrete action has yet been taken, but given that San Francisco and California refuse to bend on sanctuary immigration policy, a federal push may be the only thing that moves the needle. While California Democrats have been fretting over the prospect of a Republican vs. Republican gubernatorial race after the June 2026 primaries, they will most likely continue their one-party rule in the state provided one of their candidates finishes in the top two. Should this happen, no changes to the sanctuary policy will be forthcoming at the state level.
President Trump has previously threatened to cut funding to sanctuary cities, stating that they were protecting criminals at the expense of American citizens. In San Francisco, the local government has consistently refused to make an exception to its sanctuary policies in order to support convicted Honduran drug dealers. Liberals know how to play hardball in the service of their ideological goals; in the absence of reasonable state and local leadership on this issue, the federal government’s involvement may be the only way to get California and likeminded states to do the right thing.
