ICE Role at World Cup Confirmed, Questions Remain About Enforcement Near Stadiums

With the 2026 World Cup drawing closer each day, host countries are putting the final touches in place to receive millions of soccer fans from around the globe.

To ensure the safety of attendees, the United States plans to use Immigration and Customs Enforcement as a key part of the overall security apparatus for the tournament. In February, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons told Congress the agency would play a “crucial” role in ensuring the safety of participants and visitors, though questions have been raised about its operations in and around stadiums.

ICE, which is divided into two branches, commonly provides intelligence and security at international sporting events. But according to data from the Deportation Data Project cited by Human Rights Watch, Enforcement and Removal Operations, the agency’s deportation wing, carried out at least 167,000 arrests in and around the 11 U.S. host cities between Jan. 20, 2025, and March 10, 2026.

According to the data, 36 percent of those arrested during that period had no criminal history.

As noted by Migrant Insider, more than 85 percent of World Cup matches set to be played on U.S. soil will take place in cities designated as sanctuary jurisdictions, where local governments have limited cooperation with federal immigration agencies.

Despite that lack of collaboration, it does not prevent ICE from conducting civil immigration enforcement, with advocates saying the agency has historically escalated, not reduced, its actions when local governments push back. That is why advocates, organizations and lawmakers have pushed for changes.

For example, Rep. Nellie Pou, a Democrat from New Jersey, introduced the Save the World Cup Act earlier this year, a bill that would prohibit federal funds from being used for immigration enforcement within a defined radius of World Cup venues and FIFA Fan Festivals. Rep. LaMonica McIver also pushed legislation that would extend those restrictions to public transit hubs and bar federally funded local law enforcement from participating in immigration enforcement during the tournament.

None of these bills are expected to advance in the current Congress, Migrant Insider reported.

Despite the challenges, others have launched campaigns to oppose ICE’s presence during the World Cup.

The Horizons Project recently launched the “No ICE in the Cup” campaign, an effort backed by civic organizations, faith leaders, labor unions, veterans groups, small businesses and artists, focusing on six host cities including Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Philadelphia, Miami and Seattle.

“Soccer has long been a unifying force that transcends borders and backgrounds,” said Julia Roig, founder and chief network weaver at the Horizons Project. “The World Cup should be a celebration that reflects that spirit of competition and fair play, something we can all rally around.”

With the World Cup just weeks away, U.S. officials have said the federal presence at the tournament will follow guidelines similar to other major sporting events such as the Super Bowl. That includes Homeland Security Investigations agents focusing on trafficking, financial crime and counterfeit merchandise rather than conducting stadium raids.

With questions about immigration enforcement still unresolved, Amnesty International has called the tournament a potential “stage for repression” without enforceable commitments from DHS. Human Rights Watch has urged FIFA to seek explicit written assurances that World Cup events will not be used as enforcement sites.

Originally published on Latin Times