DENVER — Nearly 400 international flights land at Denver International Airport each week during summer months, according to a spokesperson with the Denver mayor's office, and thousands of travelers could be impacted by a new federal proposal that would halt those flights entirely.
This week, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the administration is working on plans to stop international flights at airports in so-called Democratic sanctuary cities that refuse to comply with federal immigration enforcement.
Denver7's Veronica Acosta broke down what this proposal would mean for Denver in the video below:
Denver7 reached out to DHS asking specifics on the proposal and when any formal policy may be introduced, and a spokesperson provided the following statement, reiterating Secretary Mullin's comments.
We’re currently drawing up plans to say listen, in these sanctuary cities where the local radical left Democrats aren’t allowing us to do our job and enforce federal laws, we shouldn’t be processing international flights into their cities either, because they don’t want us to enforce immigration but they want us to process immigration at their facilities? Nothing about that makes sense to me.
Of the roughly 400 weekly international flights at DIA, 137 are pre-cleared at their point of origin. The remaining 226 require federal processing at the airport, putting thousands of travelers at risk of disruption each week.
Skyler McKinley, regional director of public affairs for AAA, said the consequences would be significant.
"Fundamentally, if this came to fruition, it would be a shutdown of international flights into Denver International Airport, which is a major economic driver for both Denver, for Colorado, and for the country," he said.
McKinley said if the plan moves forward, protocols and procedures are in place to give all travelers time to react. He said the impact would not be limited to any one group.
"This would be all travelers coming into Denver International Airport on an international flight, regardless of your individual citizenship status or otherwise," he said.
McKinley went on to describe DIA as a critical hub for the nation.
"It is a key connector to the rest of the country from international destinations."
Despite the City of Denver never officially calling itself a sanctuary city, President Trump has labeled it one since his first administration.
Jazmin Chavez, an adjunct professor at MSU Denver, said the proposal is designed to pressure local governments.
"It is a coercion measure to try to kind of scare states into, they're falling in line and cooperating in other ways with DHS and ICE."
Chavez believes the move would face legal challenges.
Denver7 reached out to DIA, and a spokesperson said they had not been notified of any changes.
We have not been notified directly by the Department of Homeland Security or Customs and Border Protection of any changes. We remain focused on working with our federal partners to ensure a secure and efficient inspection process at our airport.
The mayor's office said it doubted "this is a road the federal government really wants to go down."
Considering Denver International Airport receives hundreds of international flights and thousands of travelers a week, we doubt this is a road the federal government really wants to go down. As for civil immigration enforcement, that’s the federal government’s job. Our job is to keep residents safe, which we accomplish by following all federal, state, and local laws.
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