ICE and HSI to Deploy Near World Cup Venues for Public Safety

Federal immigration agents will be deployed as part of security operations for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin confirmed. The tournament is scheduled from June 11 to July 19 across 16 host cities in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Mullin stated that personnel from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) will operate near match venues to target criminal activities including human trafficking, drug smuggling, and the sale of counterfeit tickets and merchandise. He said the agencies will work alongside Customs and Border Protection. When you have crowds this big, criminal activities follow, Mullin said in a video statement. ICE and HSI are going to be out there every day.

Officials have emphasized that the agents' primary focus will be on public safety and not on broad immigration enforcement sweeps. However, it remains unclear whether agents are explicitly forbidden from making immigration-related arrests during the event. This ambiguity has generated concern among advocacy groups and some local vendors.

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