Miami (AFP) – United States immigration and border agents will be deployed at venues hosting FIFA Club World Cup games when the tournament kicks off this weekend, a US media report said Wednesday. NBC television’s Miami affiliate reported that members of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) along with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) would be on duty at Saturday’s opener between Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami and Egypt’s Al Ahly.
The report cited a CBP post on social media — since deleted — that said agents would be on the ground during the first round of games in the tournament. “Let the games begin! The first FIFA Club World Cup games start on June 14th in Miami,” the post on X read. “CBP will be suited and booted and ready to provide security for the first round of games.”
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ICE raids carried out in Los Angeles last week as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown have triggered angry protests in the city. The NBC report did not state what role ICE and CBP agents would have at Club World Cup games, nor did it give any indication of how many agents would be deployed. An ICE spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment when contacted by AFP.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino meanwhile played down any concerns about ICE agents being deployed to Club World Cup matches. “No, I don’t have any concerns about anything in the sense that we are very attentive on any security question,” Infantino told reporters at an event in Miami. “Of course, the most important for us is to guarantee security for all the fans who come to the games. This is our priority. This is the priority of all the authorities who are here. And we want everyone who comes to the games to pass a good moment.”
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