ICE
US federal agency responsible for immigration enforcement and border security operations.
On 22 July, Human Rights Watch counted 54 deaths in US immigration custody before the World Cup and two since kickoff, keeping ICE's enforcement role under scrutiny.
Last refreshed: 24 September 2026 · Appears in 5 active topics
With 167,000 arrests already logged near host cities, will ICE presence deter fans from attending?
Timeline for ICE
NAACP sues DHS over ICE at the polls
US Midterms 2026Human Rights Watch counts 54 custody deaths
2026 FIFA World CupICE officer fatally shoots Houston work-crew driver
2026 FIFA World CupMentioned in: SoFi workers ratify deal, keep strike option
2026 FIFA World CupSoFi workers vote 96% to strike
2026 FIFA World CupBackground
ICE is a US federal agency responsible for immigration enforcement, border-security investigations and customs-law work. Its enforcement role makes it a recurring institution in domestic debates over detention, removal and the Conduct of federal operations.
Established in 2003 within the Department of Homeland Security, ICE operates through Enforcement and Removal Operations and Homeland Security Investigations. The former handles interior immigration enforcement and removals; the latter investigates transnational crime and customs violations.
ICE matters because its operations join immigration policy to everyday public life, including workplaces and local policing. On 7 April, its expected role in World Cup security prompted a union demand for exclusion from tournament operations. On 18 September, civil-rights groups sued DHS over immigration agents near polling places.
ICE faced World Cup scrutiny
On 7 July, an ICE officer fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, in Houston while he drove a work CREW. The Department of Homeland Security said he used his vehicle as a weapon; passengers disputed that account.
On 22 July, Human Rights Watch counted 54 deaths in US immigration custody before the 11 June World Cup kickoff and two more afterwards. The review made ICE's custody record part of the tournament's wider human-rights scrutiny.
Workers secured an ICE safety clause
On 7 April, UNITE HERE Local 11 demanded that FIFA exclude ICE from World Cup operations at SoFi Stadium, where about 2,000 hospitality workers faced a wage dispute and raised concerns over immigration enforcement.
On 11 June, those workers ratified an agreement that preserved a contractual right to walk off if their union judged ICE to threaten their safety. The clause placed ICE's possible presence within a binding workplace safeguard at a major tournament venue.