US Claims ICE Will Prioritize Security Over Deportations During World Cup
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers hold less lethal weapons as they clash with protesters outside the Delaney Hall Detention Facility, in Newark, New Jersey, USA. Photo: EFE/EPA/Olga Fedorova
June 6, 2026 Hour: 1:19 pm
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Tom Homan, director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said this Saturday that this agency will focus its efforts during the next World Cup on guaranteeing “national security” and the protection of the tournament, and not on the application of immigration laws.
Argentina Honors Legendary Rock Icon Carlos “Indio” Solari Amid Police Repression: US Claims ICE Will Prioritize Security Over Deportations During World Cup“We have a national security responsibility that we are going to carry out,” Homan told ABC and explained that the priority of the mission “is not to arrest people who are in the country illegally,” but to keep the championship safe from major threats.
However, Homan warned that immigration status will be a factor if a direct threat to the security of the tournament is detected. “If we find a national security problem and it involves an illegal alien, of course we are going to take action,” he noted.
When asked if the general public and foreign visitors from other countries should worry about possible immigration arrests by ICE during the tournament, Homan insisted that the agency’s focus is exclusively shielded on risk prevention and protection logistics.
“We are focused on national security issues and that is what we are going to concentrate on,” concluded the so-called ‘border czar’.
The World Cup will be held jointly in the United States, Mexico and Canada between June 11 and July 19.
Tom Homan announced the mobilization of 7,000 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and the resumption of the mass deportation plan to fulfill Donald Trump’s promises.
This measure comes in a context where Trump’s base criticizes the moderate tone of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, following the deaths of two American citizens in immigration operations.
Homan reported that there are 3,000 more agents in training and that they will be distributed in 40 states, anticipating an increase in deportation figures and a decrease in border detentions.
Last year, ICE arrested more than half a million undocumented immigrants, and currently 1,200 arrests are made daily, in line with Trump’s promise of one million deportations annually.
Source: EFE
