World Cup alert: ICE uses football as 'bait' to hunt immigrants in the USA, says report

Separated by ICE is the name of the photograph taken by Carol Guzy and winner of the 2026 World Press Photo Image of the Year award.
Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press, iWitness for Miami Herald/World Press Photo 2026 via BBC
Football games in the United States have become one of the major targets of actions by ICE, the US Immigration and Customs Service that "hunts" immigrants by order of the US president, Donald Trump. The conclusion is from a report by the North American organization Human Rights Soccer Alliance.
According to the report, 17 people linked to football events in the USA, including players, coaches and parents of athletes, have already been detained - and some deported - since the beginning of 2025, when ICE began actions on the streets of the country.
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In the document, released last week, the NGO states that events linked to football have become a strong target for ICE because it is a sport most practiced among Latin American communities - North Americans tend to prefer American football. And it expresses fear that ICE agents will use World Cup games to carry out detentions.
"Football in the United States is deeply rooted in immigrant communities. For generations, it has served as a space of belonging and cultural expression. However, (...) enforcement actions have extended to central football spaces, including schools, parks, community centers and sports facilities," the document says.
ICE agents were not prohibited from making arrests at World Cup games, and no official guidance was issued to prevent immigration detentions at stadiums. Given this scenario, the NGO asks in the report that:
FIFA guarantees the ban on the application of the Trump administration's anti-immigration policy "in and around the World Cup venues";
FIFA does not share public data with immigration authorities;
teams do not cooperate with immigration authorities, except in the case of a court order.
17 cases
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The report also documents 17 cases of people linked to the world of football who were detained. Of the total, three were deported, such as the player Emerson Colindres, who was detained on the day he graduated from a school in Ohio and deported to Honduras, where he had left with his parents at the age of 8.
In another case, two players were arrested while training on a football field at Pier 40, a sports complex in New York.
The report also mentions the deportation of an immigrant at the door of the MetLife stadium, where he had gone with his children to watch the FIFA Club World Cup final, played last year in the USA.
The report states that the host cities for the World Cup games are especially sensitive. Based on data from the government itself, the document points out that, between January 20, 2025, when Trump took office, and October 15, 2025, ICE arrested 92,392 people in the cities where the matches will be played, a number above average, according to the NGO.
'Don't come', says NGO
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On Wednesday (10), groups defending immigrant rights met in in front of FIFA headquarters in Miami to warn the organization of the risk of further actions by ICE and asked foreigners to avoid going to the US to watch the World Cup games.
"We warned that there would be arbitrary detentions, the possibility of people being denied entry into the US, racial discrimination and much more. All of this is happening, has already happened and will continue to happen", said activist Yarelíz Méndez Zamora, member of the American Friends Service Committee, an NGO that works in defense of immigrants in Florida.
The group expressed to the football federation its concern that the US government's recent actions to bar the entry of foreigners - the case of Somali referee Omar Artan, prevented from entering to officiate World Cup games - could impact international visitors.
"The last 72 hours proved our worst fears, and I would like to send a message to everyone around the world. Fans, players, coaches, referees, if you haven't boarded yet, even with a valid visa, don't do it. Don't come," said filmmaker and activist Billy Corben.
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Source: G1