KUOW73%
Seattle labor groups prepare for increased ICE presence at the World Cup 28%
By Gustavo Sagrero Álvarez0%
6/10/2026, 2:15:38 PM
Topics: Immigration
BS Summary: This article contains 26 faulty reasoning types, including Negativity Bias, Pessimism Bias, and Framing Effect, with Appeal to Emotion as the most egregious example at 18.2% saturation with 162 hits. Analysis detected 1,455 faulty-reasoning hits from 891 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 38.9% and a BS Rank of 28% (15,813 of 21,887 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 72.20% of the article peer group.
During the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Seattle, U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are expected to take up security roles alongside other federal and local law enforcement agencies.
The Department of Homeland Security says the staffing is a routine part of “what we do with every major sporting event,” according to a statement.
City officials have also been told that there are no specific planned civil immigration operations during the games.
Still, some labor groups, immigrant advocates, and workers are wary of having ICE agents present, and possibly scaled up, during the world's largest and most-watched single sporting event.
“We have every right to actually fear that this administration might utilize this big cultural moment to try to double down on their harmful narratives about chaos, about safety, and about who deserves care and belonging,” said C.J.
Garcia, co-director of Organizing with Working Washington, a labor advocacy group.
Garcia and others have been canvassing for the past weeks throughout Capitol Hill and the Chinatown International District.
That Includes holding training on how workers can respond to ICE, especially if they do more than run security for the World Cup.
“ When dealing with ICE, be respectful but firm,” Roca, another member of Working Washington, told service industry workers at a restaurant on Capitol Hill earlier this week.
“This isn't about being nice to ICE agents.
It's about not escalating the situation.”
The labor organizers were hosting an educational session on Fourth Amendment protections from unreasonable searches and seizures.
“I think we all adhere to some variation of, ‘Chinga la migra,’” said Roca, who only goes by a single name.
“We all can and should say proudly, but, depending on the scenario, that might actually make the situation worse.”
ICE is tasked with combating human trafficking and counterfeit goods during the World Cup, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
It’s part of a greater partnership between the DHS, U.S.
Secret Service, Drug Enforcement Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigations, King County Sheriff’s Office, City of Seattle, and other groups — each of which focuses on a different part of security during the World Cup.
The Department of Homeland Security, will be “scanning vehicles and cargo for weapons, explosives, and contraband; combating human trafficking; and intellectual property enforcement.
We have not been privy to any specific deployment plans for federal agencies during the tournament,” FIFA spokesperson Hana Tadesse said in a written statement.
Ramped up security, staffed primarily with local law enforcement, will start out in Federal Way, Everett, and Redmond at the light rail centers, and intensify as it gets closer to Lumen Field, which is being renamed "Seattle Stadium" during the World Cup and where the city's six matches will be hosted.
Seattle officials said all federal agencies will continue to operate within the scope of their authority throughout the World Cup.
“Our mission is simple,” a spokesperson for ICE wrote in a statement to KUOW.
“Ensure every fan – Americans and visitors alike – has a safe and unforgettable experience… International visitors who legally come to the United States for the World Cup have nothing to worry about.
What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is whether or not they are illegally in the U.S.— full stop.”
ICE can and has stopped people if they claim they have “reasonable suspicion” that someone could be in the country without federal authorization.
That reasonable suspicion includes languages spoken, occupations, and skin color among other factors.
Over the past days Garcia said she has seen a surge of ICE arrests in the suburbs and neighborhoods at the edges of Seattle — reportedly through the use of U.S.
Customs and Border Protection access to license plate information via security cameras on roadways.
With ICE’s presence during the World Cup, she said workers are nervous about more enforcement activity in Seattle and taking extra precautions.
“Workers are making the city run," Garcia said.
"Workers will have a choice and an opportunity to stop the city from running if these attacks ultimately materialize.”
The World Cup and ICE’s expected security presence coincides with contract negotiations at Embassy Suites in Pioneer Square, just across the parking lot of Lumen field where the games are being hosted.
About a hundred of the unionized employees have voted to authorize a strike, after contract negotiations broke down between management and staff.
“I want us to feel secure at this job,” said Teresa Joseph, who works at the hotel.
That security means better pay, a return to pre-pandemic staffing levels, more healthcare coverage, but also a heads up when ICE and DHS are on hotel property, she said.
“Everyone has to work, everyone needs to work," Joseph said.
"So it's important as the other points that we want — there should be no question about it.”
The ICE precautions have become a central issue, said Stefan Moritz with Unite Here Local 8, which represents the hotel workers.
“ It's the responsibility of the community and of employers, to keep folks as safe as possible and stand with them as they're struggling… with the government crackdown on immigrants right now,” Moritz said.
Hilton, the hotel’s parent company, has not responded to requests for comment, but union representatives said management has repeatedly rejected demands for worker protections from ICE.
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