With the FIFA World Cup almost upon us, soccer fans in Los Angeles aren’t sure how to feel about attending matches with so much happening in the U.S. and around the world. Most of their attention is focused on wars happening around the globe, the high cost of tickets for the event, as well as the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at the tournament. Some have even opted to boycott the games.
Eight World Cup matches will be played in the City of Angels at SoFi Stadium, located in Inglewood, including the game that will open the tournament featuring the U.S. men’s national team on June 12, 2026. The games will run from June 11 to July 19 with a total of 104 matches to be played across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
In a video published on May 19 by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, it was revealed that ICE agents will “be out there every day” at World Cup games held in the United States in order to crack down on “counterfeit tickets, human trafficking, drug smuggling, and counterfeit products.” Or in other words, they will be doing their jobs to enforce the law.
According to a report from the LA Public Press, the LA World Cup Host Committee, a nonprofit organization running logistics for matches in the city, previously stated that ICE would have a presence at games, but would not be part of stadium security. A labor union representing over 2,000 hospitality workers at SoFi Stadium threatened to go on strike if ICE agents were to be deployed to World Cup games.
During a recent soccer tournament held in Mid City, soccer player Tori Wei spoke with the outlet, stating that ICE being present at matches makes it hard to support the World Cup. “When you involve organizations like ICE that are actively harming our communities, it makes it hard to support events like the World Cup and organizations like FIFA,” Wei explained.
A number of leftist soccer fans in LA told the publication that they were extremely worried about federal immigration authorities being present at the event. Nico Avina, a soccer player and co-owner of the Espacio 1839 shop located in Boyle Heights, said that he’s angry about ICE being at the games and claimed fans aren’t being protected by FIFA, the governing body responsible for putting together the World Cup.
“FIFA doesn’t care about the safety of those that are coming out and watching the World Cup,” Avina said, going on to add he’s passionate about the sport and will be following matches but won’t be paying money to watch or support the tournament. Soccer fan and NOlympics LA organizer Eric Sheehan said the grassroots network is concerned that even if ICE isn’t arresting people, they will still be operating around the city while the event is taking place.
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“Even if ICE is not allowed in the stadiums, they will be harassing our people in the streets, trying to destroy lives, and Angelenos are not going to stand for that,” Sheehan told the LA Public Press. He then stated he would watch the matches, but not pay to do so. During an interview with CBS News, Mullin revealed that ICE will be targeting individuals at the World Cup who are wanted for serious crimes like murder or drug trafficking.
He also stated that agents won’t be doing mass arrests for immigration enforcement. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass spoke with reporters and said that ICE will not conduct immigration arrests at SoFi Stadium, nor will they be present at the free screenings or the 10 public fan festivals. “I believe that ICE will be [in] Inglewood, not doing immigration enforcement but doing what they do when they’re not chasing people, which is looking for people on the no-fly list and all of that,” Bass told the media.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video