US Homeland Security chief sees no need to stop international flight processing at Newark Airport
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Monday there is no need to halt international flight processing at New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport, citing cooperation from state and local law enforcement near a detention center.
“As long as we continue to have this partnership with local and state law enforcement, then there’ll be no need to do so,” Mullin said at a press conference in Dallas.
On Friday, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill ordered state police to take control outside Newark’s Delaney Hall migrant detention center, which had been the site of a week of clashes between protesters and federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Sherrill, a Democrat, said the move was intended to reduce escalating tensions and violence outside the 1,000-bed facility operated by Geo Group.
Mullin again said he had a plan to pull customs agents from Newark Airport, a major United Airlines hub outside New York City, to assist with security efforts at the detention center, but said that step is no longer needed because of support from state and local authorities.
On Thursday, Mullin warned the Trump administration could soon stop processing international travelers and cargo at Newark Airport. Major airline, travel and business groups responded Friday that suspending border processing at Newark or other major U.S. airports could cause chaos, strand thousands of travelers and disrupt critical cargo shipments.
Mullin has also said he could halt immigration processing at more than a dozen airports in sanctuary cities, including Boston, Denver, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco. The U.S. Travel Association said shutting down international flights at the 18 airports serving those cities would cost more than $70 billion and affect 68 million international passengers annually.
Foreign visitors are expected to arrive in large numbers for this month’s soccer World Cup, co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The final will be held July 19 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, about 12 miles from Newark Airport.
