Republicans Want to Redefine “Airport” Because... Why Not?

Republicans Want to Redefine “Airport” Because... Why Not?

HR 2962 just dropped like a suspicious carry-on at JFK.

Introduced by Rep. Elise Stefanik, this bill wants to “require the designation of certain airports as ports of entry.”

Sounds boring, right? Well, here’s the thing:

Airports that handle international flights are already ports of entry. That’s the whole point of customs. It’s like introducing a bill to require pizza to have cheese.

So… what’s going on?

Here's the actual law:

A "port of entry" is any location where a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer is stationed to inspect people and goods. That already includes every major international airport you can think of—Atlanta, JFK, LAX, etc.

So either:

Stefanik just reinvented the wheel for fun,

OR

There’s a quiet attempt to redefine what makes an airport a “port of entry”—maybe to centralize control, exclude certain locations, or tighten federal enforcement.

And that’s where it gets creepy.

Remember the TSA rumors?

Agents asking to see phones, sniffing out “anti-Trump” content, TikTokers being told to bring burner phones on trips?

It’s starting to sound a lot like:

“Welcome to the Land of the Free, please unlock your phone and swear allegiance to the regime.”

Because when authoritarianism comes to America, it won’t be wearing jackboots—it’ll be scanning your boarding pass and asking if you’ve posted memes about the president.

TL;DR:

GOP wants to reclassify airports for reasons they won’t say.

Customs law already covers this.

The vibes? Suspiciously fascist.

Coming soon: "Port of Loyalty" rebranding at your local terminal.