Will ICE Target the FIFA World Cup?
As Trump touts “hospitality,” DHS preps to staff World Cup events with the same agents deporting undocumented workers and surveilling immigrant communities.
WASHINGTON — With the 2026 FIFA World Cup set to become the largest sporting event in history, the United States is preparing to host matches across 11 major cities. The Joe Biden-era pitch to "welcome the world" has now taken on a different tone under President Donald Trump, who recently signed an Executive Order establishing the White House Task Force on the FIFA World Cup 2026.
The task force is charged with coordinating federal support for both the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and the 2026 FIFA World Cup, working across executive agencies to manage planning, security, and logistics. While the administration promotes this as a sign of national readiness and hospitality, immigrant communities and advocates are expressing quiet alarm.
The task force includes the Department of Homeland Security — the same agency currently overseeing controversial immigra…