Ahead of this year’s World Cup, Democrats had warned that immigration enforcement agents at matches were likely to cross the line with fans or players and create international incidents in the process. So far, those fears haven’t borne out.
As the tournament moves into its final week, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement division of the Homeland Security Department has stayed away from crowd control. Instead it has focused on joint efforts with law enforcement partners to combat counterfeiting and human trafficking around the tournament, which has seen large numbers of foreign attendees flock to the United States, Mexico and Canada in support of their teams.
Even Democrats are noticing the restraint which ICE has exercised around the matches.
“I have not seen, or have not heard of, any significant, serious report, which is really very good. I am happy to hear that,” said Rep. Nellie Pou, a Democratic member of the House Homeland Security Committee whose New Jersey district includes the area around Metlife Stadium that will host the tournament’s final match.
Pou, who had raised concerns about ICE at the sporting event in congressional hearings in the months before the game, attributed the low-profile approach ICE has taken to security at the matches to congressional oversight and “a change in the administration between Secretary Noem, who absolutely didn’t care about what was going on, and Secretary Mullin.”
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin has taken a more tempered and discreet approach to the agency’s enforcement operations than his predecessor Kristi Noem — mending some of the frayed relations she had with Capitol Hill. DHS has also played a major role at the World Cup in less controversial areas. Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Protective Service and the Coast Guard have helped down unmanned aerial vehicles such as drones operating near sporting arenas.
Rep. Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican who has chaired House Homeland Security Committee and advocated using sporting events as a diplomatic opportunity to showcase American power, was similarly pleased. While McCaul never joined Democrats in expressing fears about ICE’s conduct at games, he had repeatedly pressed DHS officials on the department’s plans for securing the World Cup.
Their role at the game “is not to deport a bunch of people,” McCaul said, crediting Mullin for the restraint. “Their role is to combat human trafficking. So far, they’ve been staying in that lane, and I think that’s a positive thing.”
Mainly, ICE has deployed agents that are part of the enforcement agency’s Homeland Security Investigations arm. That arm, unlike its deportation-focused counterpart Enforcement and Removal Operations, focuses on investigating serious criminal activity including trafficking, counterfeiting and child sexual abuse material.
“DHS will continue to work around the clock with federal, state and local partners to ensure a secure environment for the remainder of the 2026 FIFA World Cup,” the department said in a statement.
Mullin touted his department’s work on the World Cup in testimony to Congress last month, saying that “we’ve had no serious major incident,” and praising the department’s anti-human trafficking and counterfeiting work.
“Now, there’s a lot of fans that go around. Things happen. But there’s been no serious issue. We’ve had some threats come up. We’ve been able to knock it down because of our relationship with FBI plus ICE,” Mullin said. “We’ve got great reports back from our fan base.”
Asked by a reporter in late June whether ICE was given specific guidance to exercise restraint, Mullin said the fears were unfounded and “there was never guidance that needed to be given.”
“That was the left drumming up fear, and that’s all it was. ICE has always been there to protect the public, and that is what they continue to do every single day,” Mullin said. “The plan was always to keep the games safe and every stadium secure, even in sanctuary cities, and what we’ve proven through this is DHS is capable to work with sanctuary cities if they are willing to work with us, and when we do it together, we can keep everybody safe.”
There have still been immigration-related issues tied to the World Cup. In June, Custom and Border Protection barred a Somali-born referee who was trying to enter the United States, citing unspecified “vetting concerns.” The Trump administration was very strict about how long Iran’s national soccer team could stay in the United States for matches, often forcing the team to return to its base camp in Mexico shortly after playing.
But those issues are not the result of ICE actions, and those incidents have taken place out of major public view, reducing the impact they’ve had on the perception of the games.
Still, some Trump critics on the Hill say those actions could hinder the broader ability of the U.S. to use the World Cup as a forum to showcase the best America has to offer to global audiences.
Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, a California Democrat who has promoted U.S. “sports diplomacy” efforts, said that while she was “grateful that ICE has not been terrorizing fans,” she warned that some of those other moves are creating the appearance of a double standard, given that FIFA has declined to criticize those moves from the Trump administration.
“You’ve had the referees not allowed. You had teams, players, who have been held up for hours and hours for searches. And the treatment of the Iranian team,” she said. “When you’re talking about sports diplomacy and you’re talking about a worldwide competitive event that really is about unifying the world through this sport and then you have multiple instances where players — the true ambassadors behind this sports diplomacy — are being mistreated, I call foul.”
Sophia Cai contributed to this report.
