New plans at airports
No customs, no entry: is World Cup chaos coming?
Updated June 2, 2026 – 5:59 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Every major tournament is always influenced by politics. Will the World Cup be a stage for a Republican this year?
The US government is considering an intervention at several major airports that could significantly disrupt international aviation and cause chaos during the World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico. According to US media, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is currently considering withdrawing larger numbers of customs officers and border protection agency CBP employees from the New York (JFK), Chicago O’Hare and San Francisco hubs.
According to the aviation magazine “Aero International,” travelers at these airports “simply could not be processed.” The measure would be equivalent to an “entry ban for passengers from abroad, at least as long as no alternative solution takes effect,” according to the industry experts.
- Football World Cup: German fans prefer to stay at home
- Punishable: Customs warns about counterfeit jerseys
“Simply not handled”
Why would Mullin risk such a situation? He wants to put pressure on the “sanctuary cities”. Last week, Mullin called these cities, whose authorities generally do not actively cooperate with the immigration agency ICE, “radical left.” Mullin continued: “If they won’t allow federal authorities to enforce immigration laws in their communities, then we shouldn’t allow international flights into their cities.”
What are “Sanctuary Cities”?
The “refugees” are municipalities that do not keep information about the residence status of people and do not undertake arrests on behalf of the federal authorities. This is not legally prohibited. Rather, it is seen as a political positioning that is primarily represented by democratically governed cities such as New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Seattle and Philadelphia.
“Those who are on the hit list”
The timing of the debate may have been deliberately chosen by Mullin. All three airports mentioned are international aviation hubs, New York and San Francisco are even host cities for the World Cup from June 11th to July 19th. Five million people from all over the world are expected for the mega tournament with 48 teams. “Many of them have direct flights to exactly those cities that are now on the hit list,” writes Aero International.
- WM: America’s hotels are sounding the alarm
