ICE Is Coming to the World Cup.
What happens when the world's biggest sporting event lands in America's most aggressive immigration enforcement era?
WASHINGTON — The 2026 FIFA World Cup was supposed to be a gift — a 78-match, $10 billion showcase of American hospitality, with MetLife Stadium hosting the final in front of a global audience. What nobody put in the brochure was Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons told Congress the agency will be a “crucial” part of the tournament’s security framework. He has declined to suspend operations. He has declined to create any formal buffer zones. What he has not declined to do, at least not yet, is allow Enforcement and Removal Operations — ICE’s deportation machinery — to keep running in the same cities where the games will be played.
The numbers are not abstract. ICE arrested at least 92,392 people in and around U.S. World Cup host cities between January 20 and mid-October of the last reporting period, according a report last month by Human Rights Watch. Roughly two-thirds had no U.S. criminal convictions.
The World Cup kicks off in 36 days.
THE DRESS REHEARSAL
Before the 2026 tournament, there was the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup — 32 clubs, U.S. venues only, and a front-row seat to what a World Cup with ICE looks like in practice.
In January, CBP posted a “suited and booted” message to social media touting its security role at opening games, then deleted it after backlash and reported pressure from FIFA. CBP officers showed up at stadiums. CBP officers showed up at a Miami kick-off boat party with FIFA officials, where crew members were questioned about immigration status during what the agency called a routine inspection.
Then, last July 13, ICE arrested an asylum seeker who had attended the Club World Cup final with his children. He had lived in the United States for years. He was removed from the country.
Human Rights Watch called it a signal. Officials called it business as usual. The difference in interpretation is exactly what’s driving the current fight.