CBP Won’t Patrol FIFA Club World Cup in Charlotte, Officials Announce

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – No U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers will work the
FIFA Club World Cup in Charlotte
next week, officials said Friday.

In a statement sent to WBTV on Friday, June 20, the federal agency said none of its officers would be present at the four matches to be hosted at Bank of America Stadium in Uptown, Charlotte.

In Friday’s statement to WBTV, officials said the agency is committed to the safety of everyone involved at the FIFA events, and that it’s taking the same approach it would for any other major sporting event.

“Our mission remains unchanged,” a spokesperson wrote, in part.

The statement comes after the U.S. Customs and Border Protection
posted to social media
earlier this month that it would be “suited and booted ready to provide security for the first round of games.” The post was later deleted.

The post caused alarm among immigration advocates and immigrants, who feared attendees at FIFA Club World Cup matches could face immigration checks or detentions.

“Everybody is angry, the immigrant community is also very concerned,” Hector Vaca, an immigrant justice director with the progressive grassroots organization Action NC,
told WBTV earlier this week
. “Know your rights before going. Understand your rights. Talk to an attorney. Know your rights.”

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2025 FIFA Club World Cup coming to Charlotte this weekend: What you need to know

Unclear if ICE will be present

Though U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers confirmed that they will not be present at the matches in Charlotte — and in Atlanta —
it was still unclear whether ICE agents would be present
.

ICE has been seen in the Charlotte area in recent months as it ramps up detention and deportation efforts here and around the country, under President Donald Trump’s direction.

An event organizer
told WBTV earlier this week
that no ICE agents have targeted any of the FIFA Club World Cup Games played so far around the country.

The event organizer also told WBTV that security at the stadium on Sunday, June 22 would be like any other game day. It is not out of the ordinary for federal agencies to help provide security at large events, they said.

Four FIFA matches
were set to take place in Charlotte this month on June 22, June 24, June 28, and June 30. Teams playing in Charlotte will include Real Madrid and Pachuca.

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ICE activity in Charlotte area

Federal immigration officers have increased enforcement efforts around the Charlotte region, and around the nation, in recent months. Charlotte is home to a significant Latino community.

Last month, the
Carolina Migrant Network reported
that there was “unusually high levels of ICE activity” in the Charlotte area. The announcement
made mid-May
came after several ICE encounters were made public — including an ICE arrest
near an elementary and middle school
, and
another arrest
near the Mecklenburg County Courthouse.

Parents in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools district spoke out in May, calling the recent ICE arrests “deeply disturbing” to the students, saying the ICE presence near schools spreads “fear and confusion.”

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According to the Carolina Migrant Network, ICE appeared then to be
targeting people at “random”
in the Charlotte area. Immigration agents also seemed to be focusing on detaining men specifically, officials said.

Click here to read more on that.

Full CBP statement from Friday

U.S. Customs and Border Protection‘s full statement to WBTV regarding the FIFA Club World Cup in Charlotte can be read below.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is committed to working with our local and federal partners to ensure the FIFA Club World Cup 26TM is safe for everyone involved, as we do with every major sporting event, including the Super Bowl. Our mission remains unchanged.

On background:

CBP professionals manage the heightened demands of these events, such as efficiently detecting and responding to threats and those who engage in fraud or criminal activity.

CBP uses coordinated field-level emergency preparedness planning and incident management to provide a single, unified CBP response to catastrophic events and events of national significance such as the FIFA Club World Cup 26TM.

CBP’s Air and Marine Operations crews will support FIFA security operations by enforcing temporary flight restrictions around the stadiums in their respective cities.

CBP’s Office of Field Operations teams are supporting security examinations entering stadiums in their respective cities, using non-intrusive vehicle and cargo inspection technology.

U.S. Border Patrol is aiding with planning and coordination for safe and secure events.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson

ICE enforcement increases nationwide

ICE has significantly ramped up efforts to detain and deport undocumented immigrants in the United States this year under
President Trump’s push
to deport millions of people without legal status.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt
has emphasized
that Trump views all undocumented immigrants as criminals.

Some people do enter the U.S. without proper documentation at the country’s borders.

However, many people considered to be in the U.S. “illegally” are people who arrived with proper documentation, such as a visa, but overstayed their allotted time. These people are referred to by the government as “overstayers.”

Reports estimate
that about 10.9 million undocumented people lived in the United States in 2022. It’s estimated that “42% of the approximately 11 million unauthorized population living in the United States entered the country legally but overstayed their period of admission,” a
Congressional Research Service report from 2023
reads.

Cities across the country have seen an increase in ICE raids —
some highly publicized
— since Trump took office. The
Trump administration has repeatedly urged
undocumented immigrants to voluntarily leave the U.S.

According to Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff and main architect of Trump’s immigration policies: ICE officers were
expected to target at least 3,000 arrests each day
during the first five months of Trump’s second term. That’s up from about 650 arrests per day in the U.S.

• Click here to see latest Entry/Exit Overstay Report from the Department of Homeland Security, published in 2024.
• Click here to see the latest data on border apprehensions and expulsions from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

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