Concern is swirling among immigration advocacy groups and others about the role U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement might play at the upcoming FIFA World Cup events, including at host MetLife Stadium, renamed the New York New Jersey Stadium for the matches.

The group Human Rights Watch and others have urged an immigration enforcement "truce" during the World Cup. The New Jersey stadium will host eight games between June 13 and July 19, which are expected to draw some 1.2 million visitors.

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons has said the agency would play a "key part" of security at the World Cup matches in the United States, although the agency has been silent on specifics.

ICE officers have long played a role at major sporting events, including the Super Bowl and Olympics, particularly in helping with security and anti-counterfeiting efforts. But immigration and labor advocacy groups are sounding the alarm with the matches coming amid the Trump administration’s mass deportation effort.

Here what fans should know about ICE’s role at the games and how to prepare.

What have officials said about ICE’s presence at the World Cup?

Lyons told a U.S. House panel in February, “ICE, specifically Homeland Security Investigations, is a key part of the overall security apparatus for the World Cup. We’re dedicated to securing that operation and to ensuring the safety of all participants and visitors.”

And more recently a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, told Gothamist the agency will work with local and federal law enforcement agencies to “secure” the World Cup events, as it usually does at major sporting events.

The spokesperson said international visitors who come to the United States “legally” should have no concerns, but warned that those who enter the country “illegally” may become targets for immigration enforcement. The spokesperson would not say whether ICE would conduct immigration arrests at the World Cup.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, in an interview with CBS News earlier this month, said the agency didn’t intend to "round up" immigrants en masse at the World Cup, but added that immigration arrests at the matches weren’t off the table.

Mullin noted that ICE has long had a presence at major sporting events, including the Super Bowl. At such events, he said law enforcement officials may encounter individuals wanted for serious crimes, such as drug trafficking, murder, or those flagged through Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organization.

He added: "Well, ICE always says immigration enforcement. We're always going to do that. But we're not there for solely that purpose. We're in there to do our job… We're not there to go round up mass individuals, but we are always looking for the worst of the worst. We're going to continue to do that."

What are others saying about ICE’s role?

Natalie Hamilton, director of communications for the New York New Jersey Host Committee, said in a statement, “The Host Cities have been assured that the presence of federal agencies at venues is tied to overall security operations — such as counterterrorism, anti-trafficking, and counterfeit enforcement — not immigration enforcement.”

Cassio Mendoza, a spokesperson for Mayor Zohran Mamdani, also said in a statement: “ICE will not coordinate on security operations during the World Cup,” without specifying what that meant. He added: “The City has adequate public safety resources, in partnership with state and federal partners, to keep New Yorkers and visitors safe throughout the tournament.”

Elsewhere, officials in Los Angeles said ICE wouldn’t be present at World Cup events in that city. The president and CEO of the Los Angeles World Cup 2026 Host Committee, Kathryn Schloessman, told an ABC station that "there is no indication that ICE will be deployed at our major events at SoFi Stadium and the L.A. Memorial Coliseum."

Any guidance for immigrants attending the matches?

Cory Forman, a New York-based immigration attorney, recommends that fans without legal immigration status reconsider their travel plans. And he said other immigrant fans should always carry documentation of their legal status with them.

Under past presidential administrations, he said, there were fewer concerns with undocumented immigrants traveling by plane domestically, but he said he wouldn’t recommend doing so under the Trump administration.

“I wouldn’t risk it,” he said, adding that those who travel by car should research the laws about police cooperation with ICE for the states they’re traveling through.

He added: “If you’re passing through states like Texas, Florida — that have local immigration enforcement cooperation laws — you’ve got to be very careful about that.”

How have human rights and labor groups responded?

Human rights and labor groups are sounding the alarm about the potential for ICE to detain fans and vendors, whether that’s likely to happen or not.

Human Rights Watch has urged FIFA to push for an "ICE Truce" at the World Cup, including assurances that ICE will not conduct immigration arrests at match venues. The international advocacy group recalled the Olympic Truce, which dates back to the eighth century B.C., when warring city-states in ancient Greece agreed to a temporary ceasefire so athletes and spectators could safely travel to and from the games. The International Olympic Committee revived the tradition in the early ‘90s, and has renewed a similar resolution before each Olympic games.

Murad Awawdeh, the president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition, in an interview decried ICE’s promised presence at the World Cup. He called on FIFA and the Mamdani administration to request that the Trump administration not deploy immigration agents at the events.

Elsewhere, workers at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles have also said they'll go on strike if federal immigration agents are deployed at that venue. Unite Here Local 11, which represents about 2,000 hospitality employees, has sought guarantees that ICE will not deploy at the matches there.

Sussie Lozada, the vice president of Unite Here Local 100, which represents workers at New Jersey’s MetLife stadium, said the union’s members haven’t raised similar concerns.

The AFL-CIO, a national labor union federation, is urging ICE to stay away, citing concerns about racial profiling, warrantless arrests, and constitutional violations.