By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, June 1 (Reuters) – U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said on Monday he does not need to halt international flight processing at New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport, citing cooperation from state and local law enforcement officials 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.
New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill on Friday ordered state police to assume control outside a migrant detention center in Newark that had become a weeklong flashpoint for clashes between protesters and federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Sherrill, a Democrat, said she was acting to quell escalating tensions and episodes of violence outside Delaney Hall, the 1,000-bed jail operated by the private company Geo Group.
Mullin again acknowledged he had a plan to pull customs agents from the airport to assist with security efforts at Newark Airport – a major United Airlines hub outside New York City – but said it was not currently needed because of efforts by state and local law enforcement.
On Thursday, Mullin had warned that the Trump administration could soon stop processing international travelers and cargo at Newark Airport. Major airline, travel and business groups on Friday warned that barring border processing at Newark Airport or other major U.S. airports could lead to chaos, strand thousands of tourists and Americans trying to get home, and prevent crucial cargo shipments.
Mullin has repeatedly said he could also halt immigration processing at more than a dozen other airports in so-called sanctuary cities, including Boston, Denver, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco.
Shutting down all international flights in the 18 airports serving the sanctuary cities would result in a more than $70 billion hit to the economy and impact 68 million international passengers per year, the U.S. Travel Association said.
Foreign visitors are expected to stream in for this month’s soccer World Cup, jointly hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The final will be held on July 19 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, about 12 miles (19.31 km) from Newark Airport.
(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Additional reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
