If ICE Shows Up at the World Cup, Essential Service Workers Are Ready to Strike

Los Angeles service workers who staff hotels and stadium businesses are threatening to strike if the 2026 FIFA World Cup becomes a target for Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity. The Department of Homeland Security has suggested it may not routinely check attendees’ immigration status, while also indicating that ICE agents will be available at soccer games. Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons described ICE investigations as part of the World Cup security apparatus, and DHS leadership directed agents to be present daily. Union Unite Here Local 11 says more than 2,000 workers are prepared to walk off the job at SoFi Stadium if ICE agents show up, citing concerns about arrests, international fan deterrence, and job displacement tied to AI.

"Los Angeles's service workers - the people who staff hotels and keep the restaurants and bars going inside the city's big stadium - have threatened to go on strike if the tournament becomes hunting grounds for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They have good reason to be worried. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has indicated that it may not routinely check attendees' immigration status, but it has fudged on the broader issue of ICE presence, saying its agents will be available at soccer games."

"Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons told Congress earlier this year that "ICE, specifically homeland security investigations, is a key part of the overall security apparatus for the World Cup." Newly appointed DHS head Markwayne Mullin has told agents to be prepared to be "out there every day." Yet, faced with lagging hotel bookings around the country for the World Cup and the risk that international fans will be scared off by reports of preparations for heavy-handed ICE actions, DHS officials have also been trying to assure host cities that they won't be making arrests at the stadiums."

"Unite Here Local 11, which has had a long run of recent successes in its efforts to unionize hotels, airport concessions, and other parts of LA's hospitality industry, wants to force the issue. The union's leadership indicated last week that more than 2,000 workers are prepared to walk off the job at SoFi stadium should ICE agents show up during the World Cup. "Our members are super-charged about this," Kurt Petersen, co-president of the local, told Truthout."

Read at Truthout