FIFA’s leadership discussed the possibility of its president, Gianni Infantino, asking United States President Donald Trump to pause ICE raids during this summer’s World Cup in North America, according to a report from The Athletic.
Infantino was receptive to the idea and was planning a “president-to-president” request to Trump for ICE’s role surrounding the World Cup to be reduced, per the report. It has not yet been reported if Infantino has formally made the request or how Trump and the U.S. administration would respond.
During Trump’s second term, ICE has raided multiple U.S. cities in an effort to deliver on the President’s message of mass deportation he campaigned on ahead of the 2024 election. In addition to deportations, these raids have led to conflicts with protestors, including the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti earlier this year in Minneapolis.
Acting ICE (U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) director Todd Lyons previously said agents would be involved in security at matches for this summer’s event, the largest World Cup in FIFA history with 48 teams.
Members of Congress have raised concerns about ICE’s presence surrounding the World Cup leading instead to immigration-enforcement raids. Los Angeles-based workers at SoFi Stadium — where the U.S. team will play two of its three group-stage games — threatened to strike last week over similar concerns.
According to the report, a number of FIFA member federations, particularly in Europe, have shared their concerns about the presence of ICE agents around the event.
FIFA originally believed that limiting ICE activity in the 11 American cities that will be hosting matches would suffice. However, with travel expanding well beyond those locations with teams setting up base camps across the country in cities that won’t be hosting matches, FIFA now desires a total suspension of all ICE raids during the entire World Cup, which is being held from June 11 through July 19.
Trump and Infantino have struck up a relationship which could pay off with the request being honored. FIFA has an office in New York’s Trump Tower and the organization gave the President the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize in December during the World Cup draw event.
–Field Level Media
