Federal agents may be pulled from international airports to protect staff from violent anti-ICE agitators at a New Jersey detention facility, according to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Thursday.
Mullin warned the move could possibly lead to the cancellation of international flights, preventing travelers from entering the United States at affected airports.
Mullin said the Trump administration was drawing up plans to stop processing international travelers and cargo at major U.S. airports in "sanctuary cities" that have declined to cooperate with an immigration crackdown.
The potential move could have a major impact on travel as many international passengers prepare to travel to the United States for the FIFA World Cup.
The move, Mullion said, is necessary to combat the ongoing protests and clashes outside the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, New Jersey. Demonstrators have impeded federal agents working at the facility from coming in and out of the building, according to Homeland Security.
Protesters began holding demonstrations on Friday over alleged inhumane conditions at the facility.
The protests have escalated at times, with clashes between law enforcement and demonstrators outside the facility’s security gate.
According to DHS, protesters were arrested for assaulting, resisting, and impeding federal officers after ICE officers were sprayed “with an unknown chemical substance” Tuesday night.
Democratic lawmakers said they observed dire conditions within the federal immigration detention center and stated that detainees are on a hunger strike, a claim that DHS has denied and described as a political stunt.
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) has claimed detainees are being given small portions of food that “very often” contain maggots and that the only medication they receive is Tylenol.
Mullin, however, maintained the facility operates within federal compliance.
“This isn’t the Holiday Inn,” Mullin said. “We are not providing luxury housing. What we are doing is providing a sanitary place for them to be detained. Remember, we are detaining murderers, rapists, pedophiles, drug dealers, and gun traffickers.”
The 1,000-bed facility, located in an industrial part of News Bay, opened last May and is run by a private prison company.
President Donald Trump, during a Cabinet meeting, defended the center’s operations, saying the United States runs the finest facilities anywhere in the world of their type.