Overview
- Mullin said Monday that he no longer needed to halt Customs and Border Protection processing at Newark Liberty International Airport because state and local law enforcement had secured the Delaney Hall detention facility.
- At a Senate appropriations hearing Tuesday, Mullin defended DHS’s $118.3 billion budget request and refused to commit to automatically complying with federal court orders, prompting sharp bipartisan concern about rule‑of‑law compliance.
- The withdrawal proposal remains unapproved as DHS continues drawing contingency plans to pull CBP from airports serving jurisdictions the administration labels 'sanctuary,' a move experts warn would force flight diversions or cancellations and disrupt cargo flows.
- Airlines, travel groups and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy have warned the plan risks major operational and economic harm, with industry estimates showing billions in lost tourism revenue if hubs such as Newark were affected and the World Cup set to begin soon.
- Legal and logistical limits complicate any airport pullback because federal law requires CBP at ports of entry, court challenges are likely, and DHS oversight will be shaped by recent high detention levels and intense congressional scrutiny.