MaddowBlog-Eyeing airports in so-called sanctuary cities, DHS' Mullin ups the ante with new threats

[LetMyPeopleVote]

The Oklahoma Republican pushed the idea during his Senate tenure, but now that he’s the homeland security secretary, he’s in a position to act on it.

As the DHS chief, acting AG, Republican lawmakers, and conservative media rally behind the idea of sabotaging airports in so-called “sanctuary cities,” one thing seems obvious:

These guys don’t know how airports work — or how severe the consequences of their plan would be
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-05-29T15:10:20.751Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/dhs-mullin-airports-sanctuary-cities

When Markwayne Mullin was still a senator, the Oklahoma Republican repeatedly endorsed a radical idea about air travel in the United States: He frequently pitched the idea of stripping all federal aid to airports in so-called sanctuary cities.

During his Capitol Hill tenure, Mullin never made much headway with this, and his rhetoric went largely ignored. Now, however, he leads the Department of Homeland Security, where the secretary is in a position to actually try to implement this idea, which he talked up again during a Fox News appearance on Tuesday night.

Markwayne Mullin: "We are currently drawing up plans to say, listen, in these sanctuary cities where the local radical left Democrats aren't allowing us to do our job and enforce federal laws, then we shouldn't be processing international flights into their cities."

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-05-27T01:50:26.024Z

“We are currently, ⁠which we’re not initiating yet, but we’re currently drawing up plans,” Mullin said, referring to airports in “sanctuary cities” with “local radical-left Democrats.” He added that the federal government “shouldn’t be processing international flights” into these cities. (“Sanctuary cities” refers to areas in which local governments limit police cooperation with federal immigration authorities.)....

It is difficult to say with certainty when or whether the Oklahoman will follow through on this. What’s more, if Mullin actually tried to pull the trigger on the idea, it would face furious pushback from major airlines, businesses that rely on international flights, as well as state and local officials who would argue persuasively that such a policy appears to be illegal. Even Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has said the idea doesn’t make sense to him.

Given the economic impact of such an idea, President Donald Trump himself might be inclined to intervene, if only to prevent his approval rating from slipping even further.

That said, I’ve lost count of how many times in recent months I’ve thought, “That’s too crazy to happen,” only to see that very thing happen anyway. Watch this space