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Recently appointed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin suggested on Tuesday that U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officials would halt processing passengers at major U.S. airports in sanctuary cities, potentially halting international traffic at Bay Area airports.
Mullin said regions across the U.S. that have declined to cooperate with President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement policies may have customs officials removed from airports, ultimately preventing the processing of international passengers at authorized ports of entry.
“When we start looking at sanctuary cities, if they’re not enforcing immigration laws, then why would I be processing immigration in their city and turn them loose in their city,” said Mullin at a Tuesday press conference in North Carolina. “If cities are going to sit there and say they’re not going to enforce immigration policies, then I’ll repeat myself and say, it doesn’t make sense for us to process international travelers through that city anymore.”
“Sanctuary cities” have been seen as cities, counties, or states that limit their cooperation with federal immigration enforcement personnel. That can mean not using resources to assist with Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities and not asking about immigration status unless required by law.
In August, the U.S. Department of Justice released a list of places they argued interfered with their immigration crackdown operations. San Francisco, Berkeley, and the entire state of California were listed as “sanctuary jurisdictions.”
San Francisco adopted the Sanctuary Ordinance in 1989 to help “promote public trust and cooperation.” The city states on its website that it helps make residents feel comfortable interacting with emergency services when public safety situations occur — such as calling police or fire departments without fear that their immigration status could interfere with responses.
Airports in cities that have declined to cooperate with federal immigration officials are now caught in the crosshairs of the Department of Homeland Security.
San Francisco International Airport is one of the largest airports in the country, the second-largest in California after Los Angeles International Airport. In 2025, SFO handled more than 7.5 million international arrivals from over 61 cities outside the United States.
The removal of customs officials from SFO would mean thousands of passengers and cargo flights would be impacted.
Across the bay is Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport. While much smaller than SFO, the airport still handled more than 417,603 international passengers in 2025 — nearly all from Mexico.
In response to Mullin’s comments, OAK spokesperson Kaley Skantz said the airport is governed by federal laws and regulations.
“Federal officials at OAK regularly conduct passport screenings and other required tasks that ensure safety and code compliance, as they do at all airports,” said Skantz. “We will continue to follow those federally mandated requirements and honor those partnerships.”
San Jose Mineta International Airport officials said they are monitoring the situation and will also abide by any federal guidance as needed.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office blasted Mullin’s comments, calling them a “stupid idea” in a post on X.
“If you thought the economy was bad with Trump’s war driving prices at the pump up … just wait until international travel is halted at some of the busiest airports in the world,” Newsom’s office said.
The largest domestic and international carrier at SFO, United Airlines, declined to comment.
Mullin said in the North Carolina press conference that he would be speaking with Trump about the idea of pulling agents.
