The Department of Homeland Security is reportedly drawing up plans to halt customs processing at airports in sanctuary cities, and honestly, this might be the most beautiful piece of poetic justice we've seen all year. You don't want to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement? Fine. Then your airports don't get federal customs officers. Simple.
Imagine flying into LAX after a trip to Cancún and being told, "Sorry, no customs processing here — your mayor doesn't believe in borders." That's not a joke. That could be reality.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin laid it out plainly during an appearance on Fox News's Hannity on Tuesday, saying, "We shouldn't be processing international flights into their cities either." If a city refuses to cooperate with federal law enforcement on immigration, Mullin's argument goes, why should federal officers provide the customs infrastructure that makes their airports function?
The cities potentially on the chopping block read like a who's-who of progressive utopias: New York City, Newark, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Philadelphia. Every single one a sanctuary city. Every single one run by Democrats who spent years virtue-signaling about how welcoming and compassionate they are.
Well, compassion just met consequences.
The airline and travel industries are already in full panic mode, according to Newsmax. Airlines for America, the trade group representing major carriers, warned that "reducing CBP staffing at major airports would have a devastating effect on the airline and tourism industries." The U.S. Travel Association piled on, claiming the move would have "devastating consequences for the travel industry and communities that depend on international visitation."
Notice who's suddenly worried about economic devastation? The same industries headquartered in the same blue cities that cheered every sanctuary policy and donated to every open-borders politician. American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hilton, and Marriott are all reportedly watching this closely. Good. Maybe they should've watched their mayors more closely.
The timing makes this even more delicious. The FIFA World Cup kicks off next month across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. International travelers will be flooding into American airports. And if DHS pulls customs processing from sanctuary city airports, those travelers — and the billions in tourism dollars they carry — will be routed through cities that actually cooperate with federal law.
Let that sink in. Sanctuary cities could lose World Cup tourism revenue because their leaders decided protecting illegal aliens was more important than protecting their own economies.
No action has been taken yet — the administration is still drawing up plans. But the message is crystal clear. You want federal services? Then cooperate with federal law. You want to play pretend like immigration law doesn't exist? Then your airports can play pretend like customs doesn't exist.
We spent years watching sanctuary city mayors preen and posture, declaring their cities safe havens while crime surged and taxpayers footed the bill. Now the federal government is finally saying: you don't get to have it both ways. You don't get to defy the feds on Monday and demand federal customs officers on Tuesday. Pick a lane, mayors. And if the lane you pick is the one without international flights, that's on you.