FIFA, the football governing body that organises the World Cup competition, has faced pressure to petition United States President Donald Trump to avoid immigration raids at this year’s tournament. On Tuesday, the publication The Athletic cited anonymous sources as saying FIFA executives had approached the football association’s president, Gianni Infantino, with proposals to take to Trump, designed to lessen the likelihood of immigration crackdowns at the upcoming matches. The article indicated that Infantino is considering a direct appeal to Trump.
The request would reportedly include a “full moratorium on ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] raids across the United States during the World Cup this summer”. This year’s World Cup matches are being cohosted by the US, Canada and Mexico, and kickoff begins in less than two months, on June 11. But the Trump administration’s push for mass deportation, as well as its efforts to tighten legal immigration pathways, have spurred concerns about whether the World Cup’s international audience might be targeted by US immigration authorities.
In a statement on Tuesday to Al Jazeera, the White House declined to discuss negotiations with FIFA leadership, but it praised the upcoming football tournament as a boon for the US. The President is focused on making this the greatest World Cup ever while ensuring it is the safest and most secure in history.” The Trump administration, however, has previously hinted that immigration agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could have a presence at this year’s World Cup games. Eleven US cities, including Atlanta, Miami and Los Angeles, are set to host matches.
Last May, at a World Cup task force meeting, Vice President JD Vance estimated that visitors from hundreds of countries will be present at the event. But he hinted that the US government would insist that all attendees obey the terms of their visas, gesturing to the presence of then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on the panel. We want them to celebrate.
We want them to watch the game,” Vance said. Otherwise, they’ll have to talk to Secretary Noem.” Until her firing last March, Noem had overseen Trump’s deportation efforts, attracting criticisms for her hardline stance. Under her authority, for instance, ICE and other immigration agencies carried out a violent crackdown in Minnesota that resulted in the shooting deaths of two US citizens, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, as well as reports of other human rights abuses.
More recently, in February, ICE acting Director Todd Lyons confirmed to a committee in the House of Representatives that his agency would be on the ground for World Cup events. When questioned about visitor concerns, he declined to commit to pausing ICE operations at the matches. The Trump administration, however, has denied conducting enforcement efforts during the Club World Cup.
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