The Fédération Internationale de Football Association's (FIFA) Club World Cup pits the best soccer clubs from each continent against one another and offers fans of the game a chance to watch teams from across the globe play against teams they would otherwise never play. The tournament will no doubt draw massive interest from South Florida's immigrant communities, especially with famous South and Central American teams participating.
A now-deleted social media post from CBP cast a cloud of anxiety over the event, leading many commenters to assume CBP's presence is part of President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration. Homeland Security's Tuesday announcement that ICE would also be at the games will likely inflame those fears.
An ICE spokesperson did not immediately return requests for comment.
"CBP is working with FIFA to facilitate the lawful travel of players and fans to the FIFA Club World Cup at our ports of entry," CBP spokesperson Alan Regalado said in a written statement to New Times. "CBP will continue to safeguard our borders and welcome the world. From international arrivals to championship dreams, we're here to keep it all running strong."
He declined to say whether agents would assist ICE with immigration arrests in Miami and didn’t address why the announcement was removed from social media.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents plan to be in attendance at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium during the FIFA Club World Cup.
Screenshot of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Facebook post
"Lawful travelers have nothing to fear from these measures, which are designed to protect our nation's security," he wrote in the statement. "Under the Trump Administration, we have seen a sharp decline in illegal immigration. This reduction has allowed our law enforcement personnel to get back to doing law enforcement work, like conducting thorough vetting and interviews."
Still, he stopped short of answering whether CBP agents would be looking for immigrants to arrest at the games in Miami.
