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Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin claimed that the Trump administration is in the process of drawing up plans to stop processing international flights in sanctuary cities in retaliation for the protests at Delaney Hall, an immigrant jail in Newark, New Jersey.
In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Mullin complained that local police had not assisted ICE in facing off against protestors at Delaney Hall. He denied that a hunger strike was taking place at the immigrant jail, and baselessly called the protestors — many of whom are family members of those detained – “antifa.”
“We’re currently drawing up plans” to stop “processing international flights” into cities where Democrats “aren’t allowing us to do our job and enforce federal laws,” he said.
“They don’t want us to enforce immigration, but they want us to process immigration at their facilities?” Mullin continued, grossly mischaracterizing the actions of Democrats.
This was after a group of New Jersey Democratic officials attempted to enter Delaney Hall on Monday.
Since Friday, detainees have been waging a hunger and labor strike at the jail in protest of the inhumane conditions and lack of due process for those detained. Family members of the detained have amplified their strike by protesting outside the jail and broadcasting phone calls with their detained family members – that is, until the jail cut off their phone access. Protestors have also repeatedly blocked ICE vehicles attempting to transfer one of the leaders of the strike in retaliation for his organizing.
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In addition to shutting off phone access of detainees and transferring one of the strike leaders, ICE agents have teargassed, pepper sprayed, and tackled protestors over the past several days.
Mullin had previously threatened to halt immigration processing at airports in sanctuary cities in April, but his comments on Tuesday suggest a more serious consideration by the administration.
The Trump administration’s published list of sanctuary cities include many cities with major international airports, among them Newark, Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, Denver, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
Delaney Hall, operated by for-profit private prison company GEO Group, was intentionally chosen because of its proximity to Newark’s international airport, in order to allow for rapid deportations of migrants.
Mullin’s claim that police in sanctuary cities do not work with ICE echoes comments by Trump border czar Tom Homan earlier this month – and is misleading at best. While there are restrictions to cooperation with ICE in sanctuary cities, widespread reports have found that collaboration still exists between local law enforcement and ICE across the country — sometimes through the use of legal loopholes, and other times, violating sanctuary laws entirely.
Travel industries and major airlines have expressed their disapproval of Mullin’s threat against international flights, saying that such an action would harm the industry.
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