Not even soccer fans from long-standing U.S. allies are safe from being targeted and denied entry
This is a guest post by Thomas Kennedy, policy advisor for the Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC).
Former Mayor Francis Suarez, best known for peddling MiamiCoin, a cryptocurrency that lost 99 percent of its value after its launch and was soon suspended from trading, went live from Ocean Drive a few days before the World Cup was scheduled to begin to announce that Miami is ready.
In a social media video announcing a Fox and Friends appearance and with a backdrop of grotesque makeshift statues of players like Lionel Messi, Christian Pulisic, and Lamine Yamal, Suarez was eager to discuss the “economic impact” of the World Cup while claiming that Miami is at the center of the world’s game.
Miami and its airport did make international headlines when award-winning referee Omar Artan was denied entry to the United States, preventing him from becoming the first Somali official to officiate at a World Cup finals. He was among 52 referees selected by FIFA for the World Cup and had a valid visa. Contributing to the hostile climate surrounding the World Cup, FIFA revoked the ticket allocation for Iran fans at the team’s three World Cup games in the United States. Not even fans from long-standing U.S. allies are safe from being denied entry, with at least 40 Moroccan fans denied U.S. visas despite spending months preparing for the World Cup, spending thousands, and having a spotless record of following their national team abroad.
The barrage of stories like these are contributing to a lack of enthusiasm for the World Cup. The Financial Times reports that FIFA is facing empty seats at matches while 180,000 tickets hit the resale market. Here in Miami, we are now the second-most expensive FIFA World Cup host city, with four of the top ten most expensive tickets in the tournament. This is despite Miami-Dade taxpayers contributing more than $60 billion to FIFA, an organization that is expected to rake in more than $13 billion from the World Cup, and that shares none of this revenue with host cities. The rationale was that a tourism boom would benefit residents, but so far, that has not manifested, and hotels and short-term rentals are cutting prices amid a lack of demand.
The lack of interest in the World Cup is not surprising. The vibes are off. The Trump administration seems to be doing everything in its power to make the United States as unwelcoming a country as it can be as the tournament begins.
The concerns have been building for months. During the first Club World Cup matches in Miami earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told NBC that attendees should expect to be asked to provide proof of legal status, without explaining how such checks would be conducted. Although no widespread document checks ultimately took place, the statement itself fueled fear and uncertainty, leaving many fans worried that simply attending a match could expose them to immigration enforcement.
Just weeks later, a boat carrying Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine-Cava and other high-profile guests to a Club World Cup-related event was boarded by the U.S. Coast Guard and federal immigration agents. The operation lasted more than two hours, during which the catering staff and boat crew were required to produce documentation proving their legal status. The vessel ultimately abandoned its trip and returned to shore without reaching its destination.
Other enforcement actions have underscored the risks facing both Floridians who are immigrants and international visitors. Last year, two brothers from Mexico were detained following a traffic stop near Orlando, including one who held a valid tourist visa and was married to a U.S. citizen. Both were transferred to the Everglades detention camp, triggering a diplomatic dispute that required intervention by the Mexican government to secure their release through deportation. They later described being confined in cages holding 36 people each.
In another case, an asylum seeker attending a Club World Cup event in New Jersey with his family was operating a recreational drone in a stadium parking lot before a match when he was arrested and detained by ICE. He spent 11 weeks in custody before being deported to the country from which he had originally sought asylum.
None of this is reassuring to see if you are an international tourist coming for the World Cup, or a fan with a precarious immigration status looking to enjoy a match with your family. Aside from the prohibitive cost due to FIFA’s greedy price gouging, hearing of these aggressive immigration enforcement practices, from an agency that made headlines just a few months ago for shooting and killing two U.S. citizens in broad daylight, would make a lot of people think twice before risking traveling or attending World Cup events in the United States.
Here in Miami, we are fighting back in light of inaction and outright complicity from local officials and our host committee. We have held numerous press conferences, released a statewide travel advisory highlighting police-ICE collaboration practices in Florida, signed on to a national travel advisory from the ACLU and Amnesty International, and worked on a coalition letter signed by 30 labor groups calling for better worker conditions at FIFA events.
Our demands are simple: first, FIFA should adopt a proactive strategy to protect immigrant communities by establishing direct and ongoing engagement with consulates, legal service providers, and community advocacy organizations. Frontline personnel should be trained to prioritize coordination with these trusted institutions rather than defaulting to enforcement-based responses. Building partnerships with community organizations is essential to fostering trust, protecting vulnerable attendees, and ensuring that safety concerns are addressed without creating unnecessary fear.
FIFA must also commit to ensuring that all World Cup-related events remain free from immigration enforcement activity. The presence of ICE at or around tournament venues creates a climate of intimidation that discourages participation and undermines the spirit of a global sporting event. Given documented patterns of racial profiling and enforcement actions affecting people regardless of their status, keeping enforcement agencies away from FIFA events is critical to ensuring that all fans, workers, and participants can attend without fear.
Finally, FIFA should publicly call for a moratorium on immigration enforcement operations in connection with World Cup matches and associated events. This is not an extraordinary demand but a minimum safeguard necessary to protect families, preserve public confidence, and uphold the tournament’s commitment to inclusion.
Unfortunately, these demands have not been met in Miami or elsewhere. When responding to a recent press conference organized by our groups, Host Committee member Rodney Barreto claimed that he received personal assurances from Secretary of State Marco Rubio that immigration enforcement agents would not operate at FIFA World Cup venues, only to be contradicted just days later by DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who clarified that while large-scale immigration raids would likely not take place, immigration enforcement arrests by ICE are not off the table.
Everything said by Trump administration officials, FIFA, and, sadly, its host committees should be met with skepticism. Informal promises behind closed doors are insufficient amid an unprecedented escalation of immigration enforcement across Florida and the United States. Unfortunately, this has resulted in an erosion of trust among local communities, fans, and authorities, harming the sport in the process.
