The acting director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told a congressional committee on Tuesday that his agency is a “key part of the overall security apparatus for the World Cup” and refused to commit to pausing operations near games at this summer’s tournament.
The 2026 World Cup will be hosted this summer by the United States, Mexico, and Canada, with 78 of the 104 games taking place in the US. Various entities have estimated that up to 10 million people could visit the 11 US host cities for the quadrennial tournament. However, ICE’s role in Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown – including an extended and widespread operation in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul metropolitan area in which two people were killed by federal agents – has raised serious concerns among fans.
Speaking before the House committee on homeland security, Todd Lyons was testifying publicly for the first time since the deaths of those two Minnesotans, Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Towards the end of a hearing marked by verbal sparring with Democratic representatives, Lyons faced questioning from Representative Nellie Pou, who represents New Jersey’s ninth district. Pou’s district includes East Rutherford’s MetLife Stadium, the site of the World Cup final and seven other games, including England’s group-stage finale v Panama.
After saying that visitors’ “confidence is plummeting and jeopardizing the World Cup”, Pou asked Lyons if ICE would commit to pausing operations around Fifa events.
“ICE, specifically Homeland Security Investigations, is a key part of the overall security apparatus for the World Cup,” Lyons said. “We are dedicated to securing that operation and we are dedicated to the security of all of our participants as well as visitors.”
Pou responded: “You realize that if [fans] feel they are going to be wrongfully incarcerated, wrongfully pulled out, that is going to hurt this entire process? I hope you realize that.”
Lyons responded by saying that “ICE is dedicated to ensuring everyone who visits the facilities will have a safe and secure event.”
In addition to recent actions in Minnesota, ICE and other Homeland Security agencies have draw attention for the widespread and seemingly indiscriminate nature of their arrests and detentions since the start of the crackdown. Analysis by the Guardian found that ICE arrests people with no criminal record significantly more often than any other category.
In his opening remarks, Lyons said ICE arrested 379,000 people in the last year, of whom 8,400 were known or suspected gang members or terrorists. Federal data has shown that the majority of people arrested by ICE do not have criminal history.
The actions of ICE, along with other US foreign policy moves, have resulted in limited calls for a boycott of the tournament.
As early as last year, World Cup host city CEOs expressed concern about the “uncertainty” they said would arise from Trump’s immigration crackdown.
ICE’s involvement in international sporting events has also been under the microscope at the Winter Olympics in Italy. Protests in Milan over the agency’s role at the Games have drawn thousands of participants.
