What is "No ICE in the Cup"?
In 2026, the FIFA World Cup is coming to the United States, including Arlington, Texas. Nine matches will be played at AT&T Stadium this summer bringing hundreds of thousands of visitors to North Texas and drawing a global audience that reaches into the billions.
Host cities and surrounding businesses are anticipating major tourism and economic activity. But historically, mega-events like the World Cup and Olympics have been criticized for coming at the expense of everyday working-class people through labor abuses, human rights, surveillance, and the expansion of state security infrastructure.
In 2026, ICE is expected to participate in World Cup security operations.
Federal officials have said ICE and HSI personnel will focus on human trafficking, counterfeit tickets and merchandise, drug smuggling, and broader security coordination. But for millions of immigrants and mixed-status families, ICE does not represent safety. And for many more Americans, especially under the Trump Administration's federal immigration crackdown and Texas's Operation Lone Star border regime, ICE has become a symbol of state violence and political intimidation.
"No ICE in the Cup" is not about protecting FIFA's image (or capital). It's about protecting our communities.
We believe communities deserve safety without militarization. We believe people should be able to celebrate, gather, travel, and exist without fear of detention or arrest.
We want a summer defined not by fear but by solidarity, political action, joy, and community defense. We believe ordinary people deserve a say in what safety looks like in their neighborhoods and at public events that shape our cities.
If we do not organize together, build together, and defend each other together, we risk losing far more than a soccer tournament.
