Immigrant rights groups in Chicago are slamming the Trump administration’s treatment of FIFA World Cup officials and players as they enter the U.S. this week for the quadrennial soccer tournament.
About three-fourths of World Cup games are being played in the U.S., with other games in Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19. Chicago is not hosting any games, but an exhibition match between Iraq and Venezuela was scheduled for Tuesday night in Bridgeview.
Muhammad Sankari, organizing director with Arab American Action Network in Chicago, said the actions against World Cup players, officials and fans entering the U.S. has led local organizations to brace for an increase in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence at host stadiums and watch parties.
“The reality is thousands and thousands of people across Chicagoland are excited to watch the World Cup, and this administration and their racism, and their continued targeting of immigrant communities and communities across the United States, puts at risk our community’s ability to gather, to come together and watch one of the most important sporting events that happens every four years,” Sankari said at a news conference Tuesday.
The Department of Homeland Security has so far denied entry to Somali referee Omar Artan and an Iraqi team photographer.
The photographer was denied entry Friday at O’Hare International Airport, when several other players were held and questioned for hours but ultimately allowed to enter, according to Customs and Border Protection and immigration advocates. Both Artan and the photographer were denied entry due to “vetting concerns,” CBP said.
Several members of the Iranian national team were denied visas from the U.S., and the team recently had to move its training base from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico. The team’s ability to enter the United States now is restricted to commuting across the border for each of its games in Los Angeles and Seattle, with the team required to leave the country immediately after each of the games.
A spokesperson for DHS denied that the Iranian team had to travel back and forth on the same day.
“Thanks to the generosity of President Trump the Iranian team will be able to arrive the day before their matches,” the DHS spokesperson said in a statement. The spokesperson did not provide any further comment.
The Senegal national team was stopped and searched Sunday on the San Antonio, Texas, airport tarmac. Members of the Uzbekistan national team were also subjected to increased security screenings, according to news reports.
FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The restrictions come months after the Trump administration imposed a travel ban on mostly African and Middle Eastern countries.
Immigrant advocates called for the Trump administration to lift all travel bans and halt any travel restrictions on World Cup officials.
“The World Cup should be a moment that brings people together across borders, cultures and continents,” said Fasika Alem, programs director at the United African Organization. “It should not be used to reinforce exclusion. If the United States is going to host the world, it must welcome the world.”
The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights will host an “ICE-free” World Cup watch party Saturday in Little Palestine in Bridgeview. The organization will have rapid responders at the party, which is invite-only, and they will deny entry to immigration agents if they show up with no signed warrants, organizers said.