Councilmembers Kendra Brooks, Rue Landau, and Nicolas O’Rourke call on World Cup party hosts to prepare for ICE activity

With only one week until the World Cup soccer tournament begins, city leaders and immigration advocacy organizations are calling on FIFA, local World Cup party hosts, and residents to prepare for the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement during celebrations in the coming weeks.

Councilmembers Kendra Brooks, Rue Landau, and Nicolas O’Rourke joined the Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition to alert residents to the possibility of ICE raids, and to share news of trainings that businesses and party hosts can participate in to protect guests, Brooks said.

“We must take the time now to make a clear plan for the people who will be watching, celebrating, and working at our local events and businesses during this World Cup,” Brooks said. “If we wait until ICE shows up at a watch party, it’s already too late. We have to use this moment to be proactive and put safety plans in place.”

In February, ICE acting director Todd Lyons told Congress that the agency would be present at the World Cup. However, many U.S. host cities have been told by federal officials that ICE agents will not be inside stadiums on match days.

This leaves cities like Philadelphia uncertain about the extent ICE will be present in communities and at large-scale watch parties. But standing in front of City Hall on Wednesday, local leaders said residents should prepare anyway.

“With this big excitement comes a heightened risk, especially for many of our neighbors. We know there is still a risk of ICE raiding our communities, even more so with all of the events happening in Philadelphia this year,” Landau said.

Brooks and Landau, who have been in staunch opposition to ICE and its tactics used in Philadelphia communities, introduced legislation earlier this year to restrict ICE’s enforcement abilities in the city. Dubbed the “ICE Out” legislative package and signed into law by Mayor Cherelle L. Parker in May, it codifies the city’s sanctuary city policies and bans ICE from conducting raids on city property.

Despite these protections, Brooks and Landau said the package doesn’t completely “close the books” on ICE in Philly. They said ICE would still be present during the World Cup and were directing people to participate in two virtual trainings, on Thursday and Monday. These trainings, run by the Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition, will teach business owners and watch party hosts their rights when interacting with ICE agents and how to protect guests.

Meanwhile, FIFA Fan Festival said Philadelphia Soccer 2026 is “committed to delivering a safe, welcoming FIFA Fan Festival for all celebrating the tournament in coordination with the city of Philadelphia.” The festival deferred any questions about federal matters, including ICE, to the city and the Philadelphia police.

Brewerytown resident Oscar Lopez is beyond excited for the chance to enjoy the World Cup in his hometown. But, fears of ICE hovering over any event he and his father might attend sour an otherwise joyous moment in his life.

Lopez grew up watching soccer with his dad, in awe as his father commanded the Mexican national soccer players on screen like a tactician, Lopez said. Growing up in Mexico, Lopez’s father became a lifelong fan of Mexican soccer, even seeing the 1986 World Cup in Mexico at just 9 years old. When he moved to the United States nearly 30 years ago and later started a family in Philadelphia, Lopez’s father passed that love for soccer down to him.

“Seeing that passion, but also that happiness that it gave him, I wanted to be part of that. I wanted to enjoy that with my dad,” Lopez said. “When we catch up, we don’t talk about the weather or the politics of the day. We talk about the Mexican national team.”

The World Cup in Philadelphia should be a generational bond over the love of soccer with his father, but the sinking feeling of what ICE could do to his father, who is a legal permanent resident, is ruining the spirit of the global sport, Lopez said.

“I want the best for all of the tourists coming to experience our city. I want the best for other people, like my father, who are throughout the city who want to be able to experience something that they hold so dear to them,” Lopez said. “That’s why it’s important that we’re having these trainings and that we have the business community and hosts of watch parties stepping up.”