- July 9, 2025
Trump’s random immigration raids could ruin 2026 FIFA World Cup in US
Indeed, fear of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests has spread far beyond immigrant communities — it is creeping into hotel lobbies, travel agencies and airline boardrooms preparing for next year’s tournament.
The World Cup, co-hosted by Mexico, the United States and Canada, is expected to draw more than six million visitors to U.S.-based games.
But the U.S. Travel Association and other industry groups worry that many foreigners will avoid visiting the United States for fear of harassment or arrest of immigration agents.
Also, new U.S. visa procedures, which result in longer wait times, Trump’s travel bans on citizens from a dozen nations, and the president’s verbal attacks on Canada and European countries may further reduce World Cup attendance.
“We’re very concerned,” U.S. Travel Association CEO Geoff Freeman told ESPN earlier this year, referring to the 2026 World Cup games. He cited visa wait times and “a perception in instances that people aren’t welcome” as major problems.
Now, more business and civic groups are worried about immigration raids at the games. A coalition of alarmed Miami community groups demonstrated in front of FIFA’s Miami offices on June 30, urging the Trump administration to refrain from “overzealous immigration enforcement” during next year’s games.
Human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have sent letters to FIFA demanding protection for World Cup attendees from immigration raids.
One incident that sent shock waves through sports and business circles was the Coast Guard raid on a boat party on June 11. The event, hosted by the Telemundo network for FIFA and local officials, was meant to celebrate the 2026 World Cup.
Coast Guard and border patrol agents boarded the boat and reportedly asked passengers for proof of legal residency. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, who was on board, called the inspection “deeply troubling” and said it “should not have happened.”
A Coast Guard spokesperson later claimed it “was not a targeted immigration thing.” But regardless of its intent, the raid amounted to an immigration check.
If you don’t follow the news, you may think Trump’s crusade against immigrants is just political theater, or is mainly targeting “violent foreign criminals,” as the administration claims. Neither is true.
Immigration arrests have more than doubled in 38 states since Trump took office, according to a new study by the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.
The school’s Deportation Data Project found immigration arrests rose by 219% in Florida, 249% in Georgia and 92% in Texas between Jan. 20 and June 10 this year compared to the same period last year.
As for Trump’s frequent claim that he’s mainly going after violent criminals, that’s simply not true.
Since the first week of May, ICE arrests of people without criminal records have risen by 250%, according to a CBS News investigation. Overall, only 8% of undocumented people arrested since Jan. 20 had been convicted of violent crimes.
Why is Trump going after hard-working undocumented immigrants who most often do jobs Americans avoid? He’s doing it to please racists and xenophobes in his base and to divert public attention from the economy, which is not doing well.
U.S. economic growth has slowed to a projected 1.4% this year — about half of last year’s rate — since Trump unleashed his tariff wars. The U.S. dollar has weakened by more than 10% against other currencies, the biggest drop in over 50 years.
Trump’s fixation on deporting undocumented immigrants, regardless of their contributions to society, is already hurting the hospitality, agriculture and construction industries. Now, unless he comes to his senses, it threatens to ruin the 2026 FIFA World Cup at huge financial cost to its host cities. It’s populism at its worst.