Audio By Carbonatix
On Thursday morning, immigrant activists, civil rights groups, and local leaders issued a warning to international travelers: a trip to Florida for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026 could be fraught with perils for non-citizens.
The warning comes months after Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents deployed to venues for the FIFA Club World Cup held across the United States last summer, including in Miami, where several FIFA World Cup matches are planned for this summer. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) hasn’t given official word on whether U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will patrol FIFA World Cup matches this summer.
“Florida is no longer a safe destination for international tourists. When federal and local agents can detain anyone at anytime without cause and without identifying themselves, everyone is at risk,” Florida Immigrant Coalition executive director Tessa Petit said in a news release. “International visitors must ask themselves if a soccer match is worth the risk of being kidnapped and jailed until God-knows-when, in deplorable conditions, by a secret police who is using racial profiling, judging people for how they look or their accent, and getting away with literal murder in the streets of our country. Such is the state of affairs in the United States and in Florida. We urge the international community to be aware of the risks before setting foot in Florida.”
The advisory urges U.S. visitors to exercise “extreme caution, carry identification at all times, and register their travel with their consulate before arrival. Until Florida restores accountability and transparency in its enforcement policies,” it continues, “tourists are strongly advised to reconsider travel to the state.”
The groups warn that these dangers also extend to U.S.-born citizens, citing several examples of ICE detaining such residents. As Miami prepares to host matches this summer, the same enforcement tactics threaten to place international fans at risk (especially people of color, visitors from Latin America, Africa, and Asia), according to the news release.
“In the country, international tourists have had harrowing experiences as some have been jailed for over a month with no due process, little to no access to lawyers or their consulates, and in abhorrent and inhumane conditions,” according to the news release. “In one example, a Mexican tourist had a valid tourist visa and a ticket to fly home. He was detained during a traffic stop in Orlando and sent to Alligator Alcatraz. He described the conditions there as inhumane. He was shackled inside the airplane in which he was sent back to Mexico, after his case garnered international attention.”
Federal officials have shed little light on DHS enforcement plans at the upcoming tournament. In December 2025, Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House Task Force for the FIFA World Cup 2026, hosted international journalists for a press briefing about the tournament.
After appearing to dodge direct questions about whether ICE would be at the games, Giuliani said, “We’re having continuous conversation with this. The one thing — and I’ve known the President for 25 years — the President does not rule out anything that will help make American citizens safer.”
