A New Jersey congresswoman introduced legislation on Thursday to block immigration enforcement from conducting raids within a mile of a Fifa World Cup soccer match or fan festival in the US this summer.
The Save the World Cup bill, introduced by Nellie Pou, a Democrat, is meant to assure visitors that they will not be detained and to remove the chilling effect of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations on the events, she said in a release. The World Cup’s first US match begins on 12 June.
“With fewer than 90 days until kickoff, the World Cup should bring the world together and not leave families wondering if ICE agents will be waiting outside stadiums,” said Pou. “When I recently asked the head of ICE directly for a simple assurance that they would stay away from the games, he refused. That is unacceptable. So my legislation draws a firm line on the pitch: no ICE raids.”
“There is no successful tournament if fans and players are looking over their shoulders,” she continued. “We want law enforcement to focus on strong security for the World Cup, not meeting civil immigration quotas. We should not allow fear to define this moment and ruin the games.”
Democrats on the homeland security committee began raising alarms in February, when Todd Lyons, the acting ICE director testifying at a hearing, refused to rule out enforcement actions at matches. With the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti fresh in mind, Congress members sent ICE a letter noting their concerns about the chilling effect the presence of ICE would have and the lack of communication between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and planners at match venue cities.
Eleven US venues will host World Cup games, in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle. Los Angeles became a center of conflict over ICE enforcement last year, with strident street protests and the deployment of active-duty military units – a move that courts ultimately blocked as illegal.
The legislation introduced by Pou is backed by Eric Swalwell, of California, and LaMonica McIver, of New Jersey, both Democratic Congress members and members of the House homeland security taskforce overseeing security preparation for the World Cup, along with Bennie Thompson, of Mississippi, the ranking Democrat on the homeland security committee.
“How can our country host the World Cup while deporting visiting fans from around the world?” said Swalwell. “As a former Division I soccer player, I know what an honor it is to host the world’s biggest sporting event. Our priority should be to showcase our best – not have police commandeering buses, trains and public spaces. This bill ensures ICE cannot turn everyday public transportation into a place of terror.”
The DHS announced on Wednesday that it had awarded $625m in security grants to the 11 US cities hosting World Cup matches, addressing deep local concerns about preparation Pou wrote about in a Guardian editorial earlier this month that had threatened events in Miami and elsewhere.
It is unclear if the funds have actually been distributed yet. The DHS remains shut down over an impasse between the administration and Senate Democrats over measures to ensure ICE enforcement is done within legal and constitutional limits and longstanding norms for policing.
