AFL-CIO to FIFA: 'Keep ICE Out of World Cup Host Cities' to Protect Workers

AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler on Monday urged leaders of the International Federation of Association Football, world soccer's governing body, to protect workers by keeping federal immigration enforcement agents away from cities and venues hosting the upcoming FIFA Men's World Cup tournament.

"As we approach the final preparations for the World Cup and workers begin readying stadiums and communities for an influx of visitors, several of our affiliate unions have raised grave concerns over FIFA’s engagement with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)," Shuler wrote in a letter to FIFA president Gianni Infantino and 2026 World Cup chief strategy and planning officer Amy Hopfinger.

"Chief among those concerns is the potential for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other DHS agents to be present at and around the World Cup matches," Shuler continued. "As the AFL-CIO is a founding member of Dignity 2026, a national coalition of labor and grassroots community groups, we know concerns around the possibility of immigration enforcement are wide-reaching."

Noting that acting ICE Director Todd Lyons has called his agency—and specifically its Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) division—"a key part of the overall security apparatus for the World Cup," Shuler lamented that "FIFA has largely remained silent about the role ICE will play in the games."

"Given the racial profiling, warrantless arrests, and other unconstitutional tactics the Trump administration is using to detain and deport people with no regard for due process, our affiliate unions are deeply concerned about ICE being engaged for any purpose during the World Cup," she said. "Indeed, some unions have signaled that this would create an unsafe work environment that may require them to take collective action to ensure that no members are put at risk."

Shuler continued:

The tactics of discrimination, violence, and intimidation used by immigration agencies to target working people across the country cause fear and chaos in our communities, and directly affect workers, business operations, and local economies. Consequently, ICE presence in host cities during the games could cause severe disruptions and negatively affect the success of the tournament. We urge FIFA to consider the financial and human impact that collaborating with DHS could have on the working people who make these games possible, not to mention on local businesses, host cities and communities, and FIFA itself. The games should be a welcoming and celebratory event for spectators, workers, and soccer enthusiasts of all backgrounds.

The AFL-CIO president is calling on FIFA leaders to:

• Publicly call on the Trump administration to commit to keeping immigration enforcement agents, particularly ICE, out of host cities;
• Clarify what role DHS will play, with the expectation that any DHS presence at FIFA events be strictly limited to providing operational security; and
• Confirm that the administration will not launch immigration enforcement operations targeting workers, spectators, or the general public anywhere in the host cities.

The US, Canada, and Mexico are jointly hosting the tournament—the first time three nations are doing so—which is set to kick off with group stage matches in Mexico City and Guadalajara on June 11 and Los Angeles and Toronto the following day.

A coalition of more than 120 US-based civil society groups last month issued a travel advisory ahead the tournament over what the ACLU called the “deteriorating human rights situation” in the United States amid the Trump administration’s deadly anti-immigrant crackdown, suppression of free speech, and more.

Citing the “absence of meaningful action and concrete guarantees from FIFA”—world soccer’s governing body—“host cities, or the US government,” the coalition urged “fans, players, journalists, and other visitors traveling to and within the United States” for the tournament to “have an emergency contingency plan.”

The presence of HSI agents, who provided security services for US diplomats during February's Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina Italy, sparked multiple protests in which thousands of people took to the streets of the Lombardian capital to denounce what Milano Mayor Giuseppe Sala called "a militia that kills."

As the tournament kickoff nears, there are also multiple unresolved labor disputes that could lead to strikes. In Inglewood, California, roughly 2,000 UNITE HERE Local 11 food service and hospitality workers at SoFi Stadium are threatening to strike before or during the tournament unless FIFA and venue operators address concerns about working conditions and the ICE threat.

In Mexico City, transport unions are pushing for improved worker protections ahead of the tournament. Using their leverage ahead of one of the world's premier sporting events, workers have recently secured commitments from the city to raise overtime pay, negotiate permanent contracts, enact anti-harassment protections, and boost workplace safety.

In addition to concerns about workers, some capitalists have warned that the Trump administration's draconian immigration policies and generally unwelcoming vibes could affect their bottom line.

“When you have visitors asking legitimate questions about what their experience will be coming through customs and immigration... those are big impediments to optimizing what should be a home run opportunity for the lodging industry," Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano said earlier this year.

There has also been considerable controversy surrounding FIFA's much-ridiculed awarding of its inaugural Peace Prize to President Donald Trump amid his administration’s illegal high-seas boat-bombing spree, and just ahead of his Christmas bombing of Nigeria, kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, launch of the US-Israeli war of choice against tournament qualifier Iran, and threats to attack several other countries.