Few at the World Cup fear the threat of ICE and how immigration is forced | World Cup 2026 news

Haiti’s first appearance at the World Cup since 1974 is a matter of great pride. However, Emile, a Haitian who lives in Ohio, is afraid to go to the game because of the brutality of the President of the United States, Donald Trump.

Haiti opened their account at the 2026 World Cup against Scotland on June 14 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

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The country is home to 87,000 Haitians, according to government statistics, making it one of the largest diaspora populations in the US.

Haiti’s three group matches are in the US, with matches against Brazil in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Morocco in Atlanta, Georgia, completing their first round matches.

“Singing my country’s anthem in a stadium in front of the whole world is a historic moment that no one wants to miss,” Emile, a 40-year-old truck driver who did not want to give his last name, told AFP reporters.

“But at the same time, I’m thinking twice, I don’t want to be arrested by ICE,” he said, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials charged with arresting and deporting undocumented foreign nationals.

He said: “My lawyer told me not to travel by plane to avoid being caught at the airport.”

Emile’s concerns are shared by many immigrants, who have seen armed ICE agents carrying out their brutal operations in several US cities.

Anger flared when ICE officers shot two American protesters in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

“Now, people are making sure they know what they’re doing and they don’t feel good,” Monica Sarmiento of the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights told AFP.

“They’re going to be scared. We’ve seen very aggressive tactics (from ICE) that have gone after not only undocumented people but also those who have protections.”

Sarmiento said, “70 percent of the people who are arrested, imprisoned and deported do not have a criminal record.”

“Many of them have been here for years, paying taxes for years,” he added, criticizing “the dangerous and hostile environment throughout the country, not only at the World Cup but every day”.

ICE and tickets are among the biggest challenges of the World Cup

Seventy-eight of the 104 World Cup games will be held in the US, which is preparing for the June 11-July 19 tournament with Canada and Mexico.

The possibility of ICE activities around US matches has raised concerns among Puerto Ricans, who make up 20 percent of the US population and live in California, Texas and Florida, with a large presence in major cities such as Miami, Los Angeles, Dallas and New York.

Exceeding the population of Massachusetts, the Haitian population was estimated to be 850,000 in 2024, mostly in Miami and New York, which were also at risk.

The Trump administration wants to end the temporary protections that Emile and others benefit from. It prevents them from being deported to their homeland, which is one of the poorest in the world, and plagued by political instability, economic crisis and sectarian violence.

Fears have been fueled by reports like those from Human Rights Watch, which said an asylum seeker who attended last year’s Club World Cup finals in New Jersey and his children were arrested by ICE and deported.

Some rights groups also fear that ICE will target foreign visitors around stadiums or in large fan centers where fans gather.

More than 120 US civil rights groups, including the prominent American Civil Liberties Union, issued a “travel advisory” in April, warning of the “risk of serious human rights violations” for fans, players, journalists and other visitors.

According to the signatories, people traveling to the US may refuse entry at the risk of arrest, detention and/or deportation, racial profiling and “cruel, cruel or degrading treatment – even death – while in custody or in ICE detention”.

ICE, one of many agencies under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has been involved in security operations at major sporting events, such as the Super Bowl.

“International visitors coming to the United States legally for the World Cup have nothing to worry about,” a DHS spokesperson told AFP.

“What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is whether or not they are in the US.”

In Los Angeles, California, workers at the world’s most expensive stadium say ICE’s presence could cause fear for them and fans.

As a result, UNITE HERE Local 11 – a labor union representing nearly 2,000 hospitality workers – decided to go on strike if federal immigration officials are deployed to the city’s SoFi Stadium for World Cup games.

“ICE should not be involved in this game,” said Isaac Martinez, a chef at the stadium, at a protest outside the venue.

“We don’t want to be afraid to come to work, or afraid to go home.”

Stadium worker Yolanda Fierro added: “We are asking FIFA to do more with ICE agencies, foreign countries, or mental health agencies.”

World football’s governing body FIFA said it was “committed to respecting universally recognized human rights and working to promote the protection of these rights”.

Concerns about Haiti ahead of the tournament, and many fans hoping to attend the World Cup, continue to weigh on prices.

Haiti’s opening game will be their fourth appearance in Foxborough, including a draw and defeat in the CONCACAF Gold Cup against the US. The crowd was about 30,000-plus.

In 2011, Haiti’s Olympic team drew a crowd of 11,513 for an earthquake benefit game at Harvard Stadium – at least 3,000 more fans than attended the New England Revolution’s Major League Soccer (MLS) game at Gillette Stadium the previous night.

In a recent interview with Al Jazeera, Julio Midy, founder of Boston-based Radio Concorde, which supports the Haitian community, said the World Cup is being pushed away from the country’s fans because of the prices.

“The tickets are very expensive and, unfortunately, we (the Haitian diaspora) cannot afford them,” he said.

The cheapest seats sold to foreign fans to watch Qatar open the 2022 World Cup were $302, up from $220 in Russia. By comparison, FIFA ticket sales in December bought the June 12 USA opener against Paraguay at $1,120, $1,940, and $2,735.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said he defended high ticket prices for this year’s World Cup, saying the event is the only source of funding for the organization every four years.

He added that FIFA is a non-profit organization with 211 countries, which are supported by the money FIFA makes from competitions like this one.