By Annie Yang
Soccer is the sport of the masses. In every corner of the globe, soccer is played on dirt roads, patchy fields, highway underpasses—anywhere space allows and people gather. A simple game, its accessibility welcomes players from all classes, races, genders, ages, and nationalities. Anyone can play soccer, anyone can understand its rules and its stakes, can be swept up in the ardor and agony of the beautiful game. It’s this love for the sport that brings billions of people together and makes the World Cup the most-watched sporting event on the planet. But as those billions of eyes are on this year’s World Cup, the people’s game has come to the American border regime, pitting the ideal that soccer can transcend political divisions against the reality that the United States’ anti-immigrant policies continue to divide us, separate families, and kill people.
The World Cup in this sense represents one of the biggest sportswashing spectacles of the year, burnishing the United States’ image as its global reputation worsens. It is an opportunity for the US, FIFA, broadcasters, advertisers, and corporations to reap the lucrative spoils of sports tourism while distracting from the human rights abuses being committed against immigrants by government agencies and complicit businesses.
On May 13, 2026, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin claimed that although Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents would be present at World Cup matches, they were “not to go round up mass individuals.” Such assurances inspired little confidence or comfort after over a year of indiscriminate raids against people of color, inhumane conditions in detention, dozens of deaths in custody, and cold-blooded murder on the streets. With soccer’s tremendous popularity among many immigrant communities, ICE officers providing “security” at games are instead a specter of state repression, intimidating fans and perpetuating an environment of heightened anxiety and surveillance that has haunted the lives of millions across the country.
As the United States continues to expel immigrants from within its borders, it is simultaneously fortifying the physical and bureaucratic walls for entry into the nation. Fans, referees, and even players themselves have had to face the obstacles of tightening restrictions, travel bans, and visa denials. As an extension of US imperialism, these restrictions impact Global South, formerly colonized countries the most and single out geopolitical enemies like Iran. Omar Artan would have been the first Somali referee ever at the World Cup, but despite having all the requisite documents and being on the list of official referees, he was turned away in Miami and forced home. As the American-Zionist war against Iran drags on, Iran lodged a formal complaint to FIFA on June 19 about unjust restrictions imposed uniquely on its soccer team. And despite Haiti making history as the only Caribbean country to qualify twice for the World Cup, US entry for Haitian citizens themselves is completely suspended, adding yet another score to the centuries-long persecution of the world’s first Black republic.
Tourists—as long as they are vetted, approved, and abide by the rules of the US’s immigration system—have been invited to spend money to boost the American economy and then promptly leave. But migrants who want to pursue lives here—all while being exploited as the labor underclass that builds our cities, grows our foods, and cleans our homes—are rounded up, abused, and deported. This concurrent hostility towards immigrants and cynical profiteering of tourists exposes the artifice of FIFA’s World Cup as a carefully orchestrated production prioritizing its estimated $13 billion in revenue over people, sold to us with hollow slogans like “football unites the world”.
Yet, glimmers of genuine human connection still manage to shine through. In cities all over North America and all across our social media feeds are stories of cultural exchange and curiosity, of people from “rival” nations becoming fast friends over food, drink, and soccer. It is these moments that remind us a shared global community can yet still overcome border regimes, global apartheid, and the imperialist division of the world—that the people’s game is for the people.
In every match this World Cup are the hopes and dreams of millions. The grass turfs are where stories of human struggle, triumph, redemption, loss, and victory play out. The beautiful game has brought together millions, if not billions, of people around the world and is one of the best examples of a global community. At the same time, the discrimination and violence against immigrants remind us that the borders of imperialism, nationalism, and white supremacy create hierarchies of profound harm. So, how do we move tangibly towards that world where the people’s game truly belongs to all people and divisions of citizens, immigrants, “aliens”, and “illegals” cease to oppress us?
In rejecting the sportwashing of the World Cup, one concrete step for Americans is to rebuke ICE and the companies that are propping up the US’s deportation machine. While millions of people are traveling to North America to cheer for the teams, ICE continues to forcibly displace immigrants, kidnapping them and often whisking them away in rental vans like those supplied by Enterprise Rent-A-Car. In Operation Metro Surge earlier this year, ICE agents used fleets of Enterprise cars to abduct people in Minnesota, and with Enterprise as the largest car rental company in the US, similar abductions are surely happening all over the country. Furthermore, with already inflated ticket and transit costs forcing many to look for alternative transportation options, the World Cup presents a unique opportunity to materially challenge corporations like Enterprise that are driving the forced displacement of immigrants.
Last month, 18 Million Rising (18MR), a national organization that builds Asian American political power on the left, launched a nationwide campaign urging people to pressure Enterprise to end its complicity with ICE. To all who believe in the ideals of soccer, the promise that this simple game can transcend language, borders, and politics—18MR invites you to take a stand against anti-immigrant corporations and governments and kick ICE to the curb.
About the Author: Annie Yang is a member of the NYC chapter of 18 Million Rising.
