US immigration agents to be deployed at FIFA World Cup

Federal immigration agents will be deployed at this summer’s FIFA World Cup, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin confirmed.

In a video posted Friday, Mullin said personnel from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations will operate near match sites to target human trafficking and the sale of counterfeit goods.

They’re “going to be out there every day fighting against the counterfeit tickets, human trafficking, drug smuggling, counterfeit products,” Mullin said, while clutching a soccer ball. “They’re going to be working hand in hand with [Customs and Border Protection] along the way.”

He did not specify whether agents would carry out enforcement actions aimed at detaining undocumented immigrants, an issue that has drawn heightened scrutiny ahead of the soccer extravaganza. Concern about ICE agents and arrests of migrants has floated around the event since the Trump administration’s aggressive push to arrest and deport more began with his return to the White House.

Earlier this month, NBC News reported that ICE had offered to deploy its personnel to assist local and federal authorities with security during World Cup matches.

“Our agents and officers are going to provide security when asked, but they will not be screening people for immigration status,” one unnamed DHS official told the outlet. Agents, however, have not been explicitly forbidden from making arrests, sources said.

This report came despite the fact that Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly assured Rodney Barreto, co-chair of Miami’s hosting committee, that ICE would not be at the games.

Concerns about immigration personnel reportedly made their way all the way to the top of FIFA. In April, executives weighed whether to directly ask President Donald Trump to institute a nationwide moratorium on ICE enforcement throughout the duration of the tournament, according to The Athletic.

It’s not clear whether the request was ever made.

ICE has been at the forefront of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, deploying across cities nationwide and detaining some 400,000 people since January 2025, according to Brookings.

Some encounters have turned deadly, including in January in Minnesota, when two U.S. citizens were shot and killed by federal agents, sparking public outcry. A PBS News poll the following month found most respondents believe ICE is making the country less safe, with nearly two-thirds saying the agency has “gone too far.”

In February, Trump acknowledged that agents could use a “softer touch.” The next month — in response to mounting criticism — he fired Kristi Noem as DHS chief, who was later replaced by Mullin, who has said he intends to rebuild public trust in the department.