World Cup Immigration Concerns Rise

Immigration concerns are impacting attendance prospects for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, with immigrant communities expressing apprehension over potential encounters with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The tournament, co-hosted by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, will feature 78 of its 104 matches in the U.S. between June 11 and July 19, 2026.

Many individuals, particularly those with undocumented status or temporary protected status, fear arrest and deportation by ICE. This sentiment is widespread among communities such as the 87,000 Haitians in Massachusetts and the 850,000 Haitians across the U.S., as well as the broader Hispanic population, which constitutes 20 percent of the U.S. population. Concerns are heightened by past reports, including one from Human Rights Watch, detailing the arrest and deportation of an asylum seeker at a previous Club World Cup final in New Jersey.

Over 120 U.S. civil rights organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, issued a travel advisory in April, warning of potential risks such as denial of entry, arrest, detention, deportation, racial profiling, and inhumane treatment for attendees. In response, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson stated that international visitors legally entering the U.S. for the World Cup have no cause for concern, with enforcement targeting individuals illegally present in the country. Labor unions, such as UNITE HERE Local 11 in Los Angeles, representing 2,000 hospitality employees, have threatened strikes if federal immigration enforcement agents are deployed at World Cup venues like SoFi Stadium.