Wednesday: Trump's Plan to Kill Flights at Sanctuary City Airports

Rush LindellSo here's what's going on. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin goes on Hannity, tells the country he's drawn up plans to pull CBP officers from airports and sanctuary cities. JFK, LAX, O'Hare, no customs processing, no international flights, just gone.

ReaganAnd the travel industry heard that and immediately lost its mind.

Rush LindellAs they should, because here's the thing, Reagan. This all started at Delaney Hall, Newark Detention Facility. Senator Andy Kim gets pepper sprayed, local police never show up, and Mullin decides the answer is fine, no more international flights for you.

ReaganThe logic being you won't help us on the streets, we won't help you at the terminals.

Rush LindellExactly right. And I get the frustration, I do. But today we're going to pull this apart from every angle.

ReaganIncluding the part where his own cabinet pushed back. Sean Duffy at a congressional hearing said, and I'm quoting CNN here, we shouldn't shut down air travel in a state that doesn't agree with our politics.

Rush LindellThat's the Transportation Secretary saying that out loud about the Homeland Security Secretary's plan inside the same administration.

ReaganAnd then there's the World Cup timing.

Rush LindellOh, we are absolutely getting to that. MetLife Stadium hosts the final on July 19th. The New York Metro airports are the primary international gateway. Hotel bookings across U.S. host cities are reportedly running nearly 80% below initial forecasts, and DHS is threatening to pull Customs officers right now.

ReaganGreat timing.

Rush LindellImpeccable. We've also got the legal... Legal picture. Courts already killed the funding route in 2017. And CNN sourcing that this is less White House policy and more Mullin's personal obsession.

ReaganThere's a lot to work through.

Rush LindellA lot. Let's get into it. This is the Rush Lindell Show. Before we dive in, a quick reminder we love hearing from you. If you have questions or topics you'd like us to cover, head to the link in the description and submit your question. We read every single one. So here's what's going on this week, and I want you to think about this. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin goes on Hannity, looks America dead in the eye and says, quote, we are currently drawing up plans to pull Customs and Border Protection officers from airports in sanctuary cities. JFK, LAX, O'Hare, Newark, SFO, gone. No CBP, no international flights. Full stop.

ReaganRush, that is a significant statement from the head of Homeland Security. CNBC covered the airline industry's reaction almost immediately, calling the consequences potentially devastating.

Rush LindellDevastating. Airlines for America, U.S. Travel Association, hotels, all of them screaming. And here's the thing. I get it. Those are real economic consequences. But let me tell you what set this off. Because the story doesn't start with Mullin on TV.

ReaganDelaney Hall.

Rush LindellDelaney Hall, Memorial Day weekend, Newark, New Jersey, protesters blockade a federal ICE detention facility, human chain across every entrance, Senator Andy Kim gets pepper sprayed in the chaos, Newark police called for assistance,

ReaganAnd didn't show up.

Rush Lindellnot once, ICE employees trapped inside a federal facility. They

ReaganWow.

Rush Lindellcalled for local police. Nobody came. Mullin sees that and says, fine, you want to pick which federal services you cooperate with, so do we.

ReaganLook, the logic is clear. I understand the argument. Cities refuse to protect federal agents. Federal government pulls federal services. There is internal consistency there.

Rush LindellThank you.

ReaganBut here is where I pump the brakes a little. CNBC is reporting, sourcing two Trump officials direct. directly that there are no imminent plans for this move; internally they're describing it as more of a personal obsession of Mullin than any West Wing directive.

Speaker 3And that is exactly the question we need to answer: is Mullin a lone wolf on this, or is he the tip of the spear? Because if the policy argument is sound, does it matter who's driving it?

ReaganThat is the question, and to answer it you have to understand why Sanctuary Cities These exist in the first place and what the federal government actually has the power to do about them.

Rush LindellSo here's the thing that never gets said clearly enough: What actually is a sanctuary city? Because the term gets thrown around like everyone agrees on the definition.

ReaganRight, and the DOJ published an official list under Executive Order 14-287. As of October 2025, it named 12 states and 18 cities, including New York, LA, Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle, San Francisco, Newark. York, Boston.

Rush LindellCities that limit cooperation with ICE-that's it. That's the definition. They won't honor detainer requests, won't share information, won't let ICE into the jails.

ReaganWhich they'd argue is a local autonomy question.

Rush LindellSure. And I'd argue when you call yourself a sanctuary and then scream when the federal government responds, you set that trap yourself. You chose this fight.

ReaganI mean, the frustration is legitimate.

Speaker 3Here's what gets me, Reagan. The courts already block the funding route. Back in 2017, Trump tried to cut grants to sanctuary cities. The Ninth Circuit said no, unconstitutional. Same judge blocked it again in 2025. So the conventional pressure tool is gone. Courts took it away.

ReaganWhich is why Mullin is looking at CBP staffing instead. It's the lever that's left.

Speaker 3Exactly right. And look, the core argument is simple. You want the federal government to protect. And to process international flights through your airport, you participate in federal law enforcement. That's not radical. That's reciprocity.

ReaganI get that logic, but here's where I'd raise an eyebrow.

Speaker 3Go ahead.

ReaganThe people harmed by pulling CBP officers aren't the mayors making sanctuary policy. They're travelers, airlines, cargo operators. You're punishing the wrong people to pressure the right ones.

Speaker 3And that argument is exactly where this gets complicated.

Rush LindellIt's complicated, because it turns out Mullin isn't the only one with

Speaker 4a problem.

Rush LindellWith reservations about his own plan.

ReaganWait-who else?

Rush LindellWell, some one inside the Administration said it about as directly as you can say it at a Congressional hearing.

ReaganThat's not a small thing.

Rush LindellAnd here's the thing nobody in this town wants to say out loud: the most damaging voice against Mullin right now isn't Chuck Schumer, it's Sean Duffy.

ReaganYeah, and that matters.

Rush LindellYour own Transportation Secretary at a congressional hearing says on the record, we shouldn't shut down air travel in a state that doesn't agree with our politics. That's not a leak. That's not a planted story. That's a cabinet official. going on record.

ReaganAnd Duffy added something that cuts even deeper from a conservative standpoint. He said essentially you all will switch spots at some point. Think about that for a second. He's making a structural argument about government power.

Rush LindellOkay, fair point.

ReaganAnd then you layer in what Airlines for America said. They represent American United Delta. Their statement used the word devastating twice. A devastating effect on the airline and tourism industries. causing a significant operational disruption

Speaker 3Wow.

Reaganto carriers, travelers, and the flow of international cargo. That's not a liberal interest group. That's the airline industry.

Speaker 3Right, right. So you've got Duffy breaking publicly, the airlines on full alarm, CNN reporting that two White House officials say there are no imminent plans, and this is basically Mullin's personal obsession.

ReaganAnd here's where I'll concede your point from earlier. Mullin's frustration is legitimate. I get it. But intent doesn't fix consequences. When your own cabinet and your own industry are saying the same thing, that's a real policy problem.

Speaker 3So the question becomes, what happens when the World Cup kicks off in a few weeks and every international flight into a sanctuary city is suddenly political? Stay with us. All right, shifting gears-and I mean dramatically-because here's what nobody in this administration seemed to check before Mullin made his announcement.

ReaganThe calendar?

Speaker 3The calendar. The World Cup Final is July nineteenth at MetLife Stadium-six weeks.

ReaganWow.

Speaker 3The New York metro area-JFK, Newark, LaGuardia-is the international gateway for that entire tournament. And DHS- is floating plans to pull the customs officers.

ReaganAccording to eTurboNews, travel industry leaders flagged this specifically: the sanctuary city threat lands right as the country is supposed to be rolling out the welcome mat for the biggest sporting event on earth.

Speaker 3Welcome to America, nobody's home to stamp your passport. I mean, you lobbied for years to get the World Cup here-years! And two weeks before kickoff, your own Homeland Security Secretary? Is this scary is threatening to padlock the arrival halls?

ReaganTo be precise, the hotels are already underperforming. The American Hotel and Lodging Association surveyed more than 200 hotels across the 11 host cities. Nearly 80 percent said bookings are below initial forecasts. International visitor spending fell 4.6 percent to $176 billion in 2025. Demand was already soft.

Speaker 3So you're not just threatening to close the door; you're closing a door that not enough people were walking through anyway.

ReaganAnd some fans have reportedly skipped the U.S. entirely over entry requirements. According to PBS, the travel industry was already pressing concerns about other administration proposals before Mullin even brought this up.

Speaker 3Incredible! This is what I call a left handed gift nobody ordered-you spend years getting the World Cup. Up to America; and the signature foreign policy move right before kick off is making international arrivals structurally impossible at the host airports?

ReaganLook, the absurdity of the timing doesn't answer whether the underlying pressure tactic has any merit-that's the harder conversation.

Speaker 3And that's exactly where we're going, because someone actually made the affirmative case and it's not coming from a fringe voice.

Speaker 5Mm-hmm.

Speaker 3Okay, so here is the steel man. Mullin's actual argument is simple: his CBP officers are supposed to be at airports processing international arrivals; local cops won't protect Delaney Hall, so he has to pull those officers to cover ICE. That's the logic. You don't help us; we redeploy.

ReaganAnd it's not a fringe position. Senator Jim Banks of Indiana called it "a great idea" and said flights should go to red state cities. Fox's Harris Faulkner called it a potential boon for red states, so this has real political support on the right.

Speaker 3Sanctuary cities have been betting for years that the federal government always blinks first. No real consequences, no reason to comply. I get why Mullin wants a credible threat on the table.

ReaganI get the frustration, but here's where the collateral damage math falls apart. CNN reported that airline routes are set far in advance. And many airports simply don't have the gate capacity to absorb rerouted international traffic.

Speaker 3Banks says send them to Indiana, Texas, Florida.

ReaganRush over 70 million international passengers a year travel through the airports DHS has flagged. You cannot reroute 70 million passengers to airports that don't have the infrastructure to handle them.

Speaker 3That's not a small number.

ReaganAnd here's the part nobody on the right is saying out loud. Red state businesses get hurt, too. Dallas and Atlanta serve as connecting hubs for those same international routes. Strand the inbound flight at JFK, you've also stranded the connection to Houston.

Speaker 3So Indiana's boon becomes Indiana's problem.

ReaganThe pressure technique only works if the pain lands on the people making the sanctuary decision. Mayors don't board international flights; travelers do, cargo shippers do. And red state freight operators do.

Speaker 3So Mullin's leverage is real, the political base loves it, but the instrument is too blunt to hit the target. That's the honest read.

ReaganThat's it; and there's another layer to this we haven't even touched yet-the legal and operational walls that may make the whole thing moot before a single flight gets diverted.

Speaker 3Oh, that gets interesting fast! Hold that thought. Short pause.

ReaganShort pause. So here's the legal wall nobody's addressed yet: courts already blocked the administration's funding cutoffs to sanctuary cities in Trump's first term. CNN's reporting this week says the White House hasn't greenlit this plan at all. Two Trump officials told CNN it's not being seriously considered.

Rush LindellAnd internally, the push is seen as Mullin's personal obsession, not West Wing policy.

ReaganRight, right, and here's the thing: That legal history matters. Courts ruled against selective funding withholding before. Pulling CBP officers from specific airports to punish specific cities? That's the same legal theory wearing different clothes.

Rush LindellExactly. And the operational piece is just as bad. Travel executives who met When met privately with Mullin, reportedly told him, you can't reroute passengers on short notice. These are scheduled international routes. Eighteen airports on the DOJ's sanctuary list handle around sixty eight million passengers

ReaganWow

Rush Lindella year. You don't just redirect that.

ReaganNo, you don't; and look, here's my read: Mullin knows this; maybe the plan was never meant to be executed; the threat has value even if it never lands; you squeeze sanctuary mayors publicly, you put Democrats on defense, and if a court ever stops you, well, that's the story.

Rush LindellThat's the charitable read; the uncharitable read is he's been, quote, obsessed with this since March (CNN's word, by the way), and he keeps pitching it at White House meetings unprompted. That's not leverage strategy-that's a solo project.

ReaganDead silence; a solo project with consequences for sixty eight million passengers and a World Cup starting in six weeks.

Rush LindellRight, and the White House response was essentially any policy decisions will be up to the president, which is a polite way of saying don't hold us to this.

ReaganRight; so what Mullin actually built here is maximum political noise. With zero legal runway and no White House co-signature, whether that's genius or recklessness depends entirely on what comes next. So here's what we actually know going forward. CNN sources say this plan has no White House green light. Two Trump officials told CNN it's not being seriously considered. It's Mullin's personal obsession since March brought up unprompted at White House meetings.

Rush LindellAnd the White House's own response is telling. Any policy decisions will be up to him, meaning Trump, not Mullin. That's not an endorsement. That's a polite non answer.

ReaganA polite nonanswer is Washington for we are not doing this.

Rush LindellPretty much.

ReaganSo my read? This is leverage theater. Mullin floats the idea loud enough that Sanctuary city mayors feel some heat and then the White House never actually has to pull the trigger. The frustration is real. The threat is the tool.

Rush LindellI understand that logic, and it might even work short term. But here's what gives me pause: If conservatives cheer for a DHS Secretary threatening to shut down airports over political noncompliance today, you've just normalized the mechanism: a future administration uses that same tool against a red city. What do you say then?

ReaganThat's the honest question and I don't have a clean answer.

Rush LindellNeither do I. That's kind of the point.

ReaganBut here's what I'll say. Whatever you think of the policy, and we've covered every angle of it today, Of it today-the fact that a sitting DHS Secretary is floating airport shutdowns over sanctuary city politics weeks before the FIFA World Cup with the travel industry in open revolt-that tells you how broken the standoff between federal enforcement and these cities actually is.

Rush LindellThe frustration got loud enough to produce a genuinely dangerous idea: that's where we are.

ReaganAnd that unresolved tension doesn't go away because the White House slow walked Walked one man's obsession, it goes somewhere.

Rush LindellYeah, it does.

ReaganThat's a wrap on today's show. And look, if there's one line that cuts through everything we talked about, it's this: Mullin's airport threat is leverage theater. Loud, real frustration, probably never pulled.

Rush LindellAnd the frustration is legitimate, Rush. Delaney Hall made that clear. ICE called for backup and nobody came. Nobody. That's a real breakdown.

ReaganNobody came. Let that sit.

Rush LindellBut the tool he's reaching for punishes the wrong people. Young people, travelers, airlines, cargo, not the mayors

ReaganRight.

Rush Lindellriding the sanctuary policies.

ReaganAnd Sean Duffy said it out loud on a Congressional hearing. That's not the opposition talking, that's inside the tent.

Rush LindellWhich is the bigger story, honestly.

ReaganAll right, if you got something out of today, do us a favor: Subscribe, leave a five star review, tell somebody who needs to hear this. New episodes every weekday. Hey, we appreciate you showing up.

Rush LindellThanks for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.