The Plan Is Real — And Airlines Are Panicking

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem met with airline and travel industry executives at DHS headquarters in Washington last week and told them directly: she may pull Customs and Border Protection staffing from major airports serving sanctuary jurisdictions, according to two people with knowledge of the meeting who spoke to The Atlantic.

Airports on the list reportedly include JFK, Newark Liberty, LAX, Chicago O'Hare, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle-Tacoma, Denver, Boston, and Portland International.

The timeline? Likely after the World Cup ends on July 19, 2026.

One executive who attended the meeting described the potential impact on the airline industry as "devastating," according to The Atlantic.

How We Got Here

Noem first floated the idea on Fox News' Hannity on May 26, explaining her frustration over the standoff at Delaney Hall — a detention facility in Newark holding up to 1,000 immigrants.

Her complaint: protesters were blockading access roads, and local police never responded when federal agents called for backup.

"We called for assistance for the police, because they were barricading the roads and they were trying to get through the gates," Noem said on Hannity. "Not one time did the police respond."

Her logic: if sanctuary cities won't help enforce immigration law, why should the federal government process international arrivals at their airports?

"They don't want us to enforce immigration, but they want us to process immigration at their facilities? Nothing about that makes sense to me," Noem said.

The Practical Problem

Several jurisdictional issues complicate the plan. San Francisco International Airport is in unincorporated San Mateo County — NOT the City and County of San Francisco.

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is in SeaTac, Washington — NOT Seattle.

Washington Dulles is in Dulles, Virginia — NOT Washington, D.C.

Pulling staffing would punish airports that may have no connection to the sanctuary policies Noem is targeting.

Major hub airports like LAX and O'Hare serve travelers from across the country — including red states. People from Riverside, Orange County, and San Bernardino fly out of LAX. Travelers from all over the Midwest connect through O'Hare.

Customs processing isn't a service the federal government provides to a city. It's a border function. Clearing customs at LAX means you've entered the United States — not that you've been admitted to Los Angeles.

Eliminating international flights at these hubs affects travelers and cargo nationwide.

Cabinet Opposition

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy — the same official who blocked an illegal taxpayer bailout of Spirit Airlines — reportedly opposes the move.

"We shouldn't shut down air travel in a state that doesn't agree with our politics," Duffy said, according to View from the Wing.

Media Coverage

Right-leaning outlets like Breitbart and Daily Wire are framing this as a bold enforcement move — strong-arming sanctuary cities into compliance while ignoring the wider impact.

Left-leaning outlets treat it as authoritarian theater. Mediaite noted Noem claimed DHS arrested "tens of thousands of gang members that are in categories of terrorists" — with zero supporting evidence provided.

The Atlantic offered the most detailed account but noted an important constraint: travel executives told DHS the disruption cannot be fixed by rerouting. International travelers and cargo don't simply bounce to a different airport. The infrastructure doesn't work that way.

One unanswered question: who, specifically, in the White House approved this meeting with executives? Noem said she "visited with the White House" before announcing these plans on Hannity.

Impact

Noem's frustration over Newark is rooted in a real problem — local officials blocking federal agents from doing their jobs. But yanking Customs agents from JFK and O'Hare isn't a targeted enforcement tool.

The people affected first would be passengers, cargo shippers, airlines, and workers who depend on international air traffic.

If the administration moves forward with this after the World Cup, expect immediate legal challenges, airline industry lawsuits, and a bipartisan revolt in Congress from members whose districts depend on those airports.