Newly confirmed Department of Homeland Security head Markwayne Mullin’s first major proposal for his beleaguered department was shot down by a former DHS chief of staff on Tuesday morning.
As the former Oklahoma senator attempts to clean up the mess left by the fired Kristi Noem, he has proposed interfering with air traffic to sanctuary cities, an idea that critics on both sides of the aisle are calling a non-starter.
Writing for MS NOW, Jason Houser, who was chief of staff from 2021 to 2023 after previously serving as a counterterrorism official for Customs & Border Protection (CBP), also piled on while accusing Mullin of "chasing headlines."
"Recent threats by DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin to halt or limit federal processing operations at airports in so-called 'sanctuary cities' should concern all Americans regardless of their views on immigration," Houser wrote. "Airports are not political bargaining chips. They are among the country's most vital security and economic assets, connecting businesses to global markets and supporting national security."
Houser warned that disrupting airport operations would have far-reaching consequences beyond immigration policy, potentially wreaking havoc on supply chains and international commerce while undermining port security at a time when criminal organizations actively exploit transportation networks.
The critique cuts to the heart of what Houser characterizes as the difference between actual governance and political theater. "Effective enforcement produces measurable results. Political signaling produces headlines," he wrote.
In his opinion piece, Houser also posed the hypothetical: Would conservatives accept a future Democratic president slowing federal airport operations in Republican-led states to pressure governors over climate, abortion, or gun policies?
"Of course not," he answered, before turning the argument back on Mullin's proposal. "Threatening airport operations creates a headline. It generates conflict. It places local officials on the defensive. But it does not increase immigration court capacity. It does not modernize asylum processing. It does not strengthen legal pathways."
Instead, Houser argued, the DHS should focus on genuine solutions to long-standing immigration challenges that have frustrated administrations of both parties for decades, writing, "The federal government should enforce the law, secure the border, facilitate lawful trade, protect our communities and migrants, facilitate safe and secure travel and protect the integrity of our transportation network. Those are difficult enough tasks on their own. We should not make them harder by turning airports into the latest front in America’s immigration wars."
