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The Trump administration’s anti-immigrant crackdown is casting a pall over the FIFA Club World Cup soccer tournament kicking off in Florida this weekend.
The Club World Cup is an international tournament that features some of the world’s top professional soccer clubs. The United States is hosting it this year, with the first game scheduled for Saturday in Miami Gardens.
On Tuesday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection tweeted that it will be “suited and booted and ready to provide security for the first round of games.” It later deleted the tweet without explanation. And ICE told NBC News 6 in Miami that all non-American citizens will need to carry proof of their legal status.
When asked to clarify that comment, an ICE spokesperson told The Miami Herald in a statement: “As is customary for an event of this magnitude with national security implications, ICE will be working alongside our Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice partners to help ensure the safety and security of the event.”
As the Herald noted, CBP’s presence at major sporting events is not uncommon. For instance, the agency promoted its participation during the Super Bowl in New Orleans earlier this year.
But the remark from ICE about proving legal status and the now-deleted CBP tweet against the backdrop of Trump administration’s anti-immigration crackdown have raised concerns among some soccer fans.
It’s as if the government is warning attendees to keep their “freedom papers” on hand to avoid harassment from Trump’s immigration officials, whose crackdown has already ensnared American citizens and produced disturbing images, like that of ICE agents chasing farmworkers through a California field.
Some people in heavily-Latino, Trump-friendly Miami-Dade County may indeed choose to forgo this event — no matter their citizenship status — rather than potentially subject themselves to the administration’s xenophobic scrutiny. The Wall Street Journal recently reported, citing people familiar with the matter, on efforts by Trump White House adviser Stephen Miller to have federal agents “just go out there and arrest illegal aliens” at places like 7-Eleven and The Home Depot, where undocumented laborers have, at times, looked for work.
“Keeping President Trump’s promise to deport illegal aliens is something the administration takes seriously,” a White House spokesperson told the Journal.
The apparent plan to confirm attendees’ legal status at a soccer match seems like a similar attempt by the Trump administration to cast a net in a place where immigrants are likely to be. And creating uncertainty around the event surely won't help with reports on slow-moving ticket sales for the tournament.
In a recent discussion on “The Dan Le Batard Show” podcast hosted by sports journalist Dan Le Batard, soccer reporter Tom Bogert talked about the fear among some attendees. The discussion begins around the 3:20 mark below: