US Government Abusive Immigration Policies Pose Risk to Fans, Workers

(New York) – The FIFA Men’s World Cup corporate partners and sponsors should join calls for an “ICE Truce,” a public commitment from United States federal officials to refrain from immigration enforcement operations at all World Cup events and venues, Human Rights Watch and the Sport & Rights Alliance said today.

The 2026 World Cup, which begins on June 11 in the US, Canada, and Mexico, comes during a brutal immigration crackdown by the administration of US President Donald Trump. In May and June, human rights organizations, fan groups, and unions wrote to 19 companies asking them to urge FIFA and the US government to support an ICE Truce, to mitigate risks to fans and workers posed by the US government’s immigration policies.

“FIFA’s corporate sponsors together pay billions of dollars because they want to be associated with ‘the beautiful game,’ not the US government’s cruel immigration crackdown,” said Minky Worden, director of global initiatives at Human Rights Watch. “World Cup sponsors and partners should call for an ICE Truce as the best way to ensure the tournament is not tarnished by the Trump administration’s abusive immigration policies.”

Six companies replied—Adidas, Coca-Cola, Lenovo, McDonald’s, Unilever, and Visa—describing regular engagement on human rights with FIFA but providing no direct comment on their support for an ICE Truce. The other FIFA sponsors and partners—AB inBev, Aramco, Betano, Bank of America, Doordash, Globant, Hisense, Lays, Hyundai, Mengniu, Qatar Airways, Valvoline, Verizon—did not reply.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations have targeted communities across the US, which will host the majority of World Cup games. Immigration officers have arbitrarily and violently detained people, often targeting people of color and terrorizing immigrant communities. Federal immigration agents have unlawfully killed 2 US citizens, while 19 people have already died in immigration detention in 2026.

The groups that wrote to FIFA sponsors and partners are Human Rights Watch, the Sport & Rights Alliance, Amnesty International, Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI), Equidem, Football Supporters Europe, FairPlay, ILGA World, OpenStadiums, Reporters Without Borders, and Transparency International.

All six companies that responded said they had engaged with FIFA over human rights issues at the World Cup. Coca-Cola, for example, stated that they “engage with FIFA through sponsor working calls, contributing to discussions on human rights assessments, due diligence processes, and implementation of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Human Rights Framework.” McDonald’s said that they “routinely and regularly engage with FIFA and relevant stakeholders on human rights risks associated with its tournaments … and share the expectation that the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be a safe, inclusive, and respectful experience for all fans, workers, players, and communities.”

FIFA, however, has so far done very little to address the risks posed by the Trump administration’s cruel immigration policies. In December 2025, the football governing body awarded Trump the “FIFA Peace Prize,” citing his “unwavering commitment to advancing peace and unity throughout the world.” None of the action plans that US host cities have developed for the tournament—a key feature of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Human Rights Framework—explicitly address the risks to communities from the US government’s abusive immigration operations.

Immigration rights groups and community organizations are providing support to immigrant communities during the World Cup. Two FIFA sponsors, Coca-Cola and Visa, referred in their responses to their support for the Centre for Sport and Human Rights, a nongovernmental organization that has developed a World Cup Fan + Community Guide to help fans understand their rights during the tournament.

Some FIFA partners said that they had limited responsibility for or control over human rights issues at the World Cup. Lenovo, for example, stated that, “Lenovo’s role in connection with FIFA tournaments is that of a technology partner. Matters relating to tournament governance, event operations, security arrangements, government policies, immigration enforcement, and human rights commitments associated with the tournament are the responsibility of FIFA and the relevant host-country authorities.” Adidas said: “As a sponsor, Adidas is neither involved in the selection of FIFA World Cup host countries, nor in determining host country arrangements with governments. These responsibilities sit with FIFA.”

“World Cup sponsors and partners have got their tactics all wrong if they think FIFA on its own will advocate rights-respecting immigration policies with the Trump administration,” said Andrea Florence, executive director of the Sport & Rights Alliance. “Companies have a real opportunity to press FIFA to argue for an ICE Truce and protect fans and workers throughout the tournament.”