World Cup in Crisis: Immigration crackdown threatens this summer’s tournament

Photo by Alex Gallardo-Imagn Images.

As U.S. Immigration Enforcement continues to paralyze many immigrant communities across the country, fears are growing for the players and countless fans that will arrive this summer for the 2026 FIFA World Cup taking place in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. These fears for fans and players alike are not unfounded. There are countries that have qualified for the tournament, including Iran and Haiti, that face visa bans by the Trump administration. Andrew Giuliani, the son of former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, is currently the World Cup liaison for the administration. When asked about potential ICE raids on World Cup games, Giuliani affirmed that the president would not rule out anything. These fears are even further compounded by the simple fact that many teams from South and Central America will be playing in the tournament, and their diasporic communities in the United States will almost certainly be in attendance. However, Latinos have been disproportionately targeted for immigration raids throughout the Trump administration, which has had a real effect on Latino communities and businesses across the cities where ICE has been present. 

Calls are growing amongst activists and fan groups alike to boycott the tournament this year following the ICE surge in Minneapolis and the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, which have gathered worldwide attention. Whether these boycotts against the world’s game materialize or not is yet to be seen. However, if ICE continues to surge in other parts of the country while global opinion of Trump and the U.S. continues to deteriorate, it is not difficult to see a summer of turmoil for soccer fans and teams. Only time will tell how this World Cup will play out, but fears are growing and the Trump administration seems to not be backing down.