Democratic Representative Nellie Pou of New Jersey is presenting the proposal, which she has called 'Save the Cup'. According to Pou, the purpose of the bill is to assure visitors they will not be arrested and that supporters will be safe from arrest in connection with a match. , said ICE will be an important part of security during the World Cup.
During a hearing that month, Pou asked the ICE chief for an assurance that they would stay away from the matches, and he refused. Human Rights Watch revealed that ICE arrested an asylum seeker during the Club World Cup in summer 2025. Amnesty Norway fears the consequences of ICE's involvement.
The World Cup should bring the world together, and not let families wonder if ICE agents are waiting outside the stadiums.
According to NRK Sport, Frank Conde Tangberg, an advisor at Amnesty Norway, described that the Trump administration has said the goal is to deport one million people per year. , often without their legal safeguards being upheld in any way. He added that ICE and CBP have been transformed into agencies that carry out paramilitary-style operations, with masked men knocking down doors and breaking into homes without arrest warrants to pick up people, and that immigration laws are enforced in an oppressive, discriminatory, and deadly manner.
According to NRK Sport, Frank Conde Tangberg described that the authorities are using increasingly authoritarian means, strengthening power, and erasing people's protections. S. in 2026 to when Argentina hosted the World Cup in 1978, a championship described as the bloodiest World Cup ever.
The potentially most serious risk for visitors and local football supporters during the football World Cup comes from that machinery.
ICE has not responded to NRK's inquiry about the criticism in this case.
They have been transformed into agencies that carry out paramilitary-style operations, where masked men knock down doors and break into homes without arrest warrants to pick up people.
Unfortunately, it is now also part of the human rights crisis the U.S. is in, where the authorities are using increasingly authoritarian means, strengthening power, and erasing people's protections.
He refused. That is unacceptable. Therefore, my bill draws a clear line on the field: No ICE actions.
There will be no successful tournament if fans and players have to look over their shoulders. We want the police to focus on strong security around the World Cup, not on filling civil immigration quotas. We should not let fear define this moment and ruin the championship.
Donald Trump has ambitions to deport millions, and already several hundred thousand have been deported from the U.S. – often without their legal safeguards being upheld in any way.