Washington, DC \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0A White House committee organising the 2026 World Cup in the United States says the event will be a \u201cglobal moment of unity\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe want to make sure that we\u2019re as welcoming as possible,\u201d Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House Task Force on the World Cup, told reporters on Wednesday.<\/p>\n list of 3 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n But US President Donald Trump\u2019s escalating anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies are raising concern over Washington\u2019s promise of a welcoming tournament.<\/p>\n Giuliani talked up the US Department of State\u2019s efforts to shorten wait times for interviews for visitor visas, allowing fans from across the world to come to the US during the World Cup, which Mexico and Canada will co-host.<\/p>\n Despite Giuliani\u2019s assurances, he also confirmed that there will be no special World Cup exemptions for fans from 19 countries that are under a US travel ban. He also did not rule out targeting undocumented immigrants for removal around matches.<\/p>\n Daniel Norona, Americas advocacy director at Amnesty International USA, slammed the US administration\u2019s approach.<\/p>\n \u201cYou cannot have unity if you\u2019re promoting discrimination, if you\u2019re promoting repression, and if you\u2019re pushing to silence anyone who disagrees with you,\u201d Norona told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I don\u2019t think that we can call this a moment of unity if they are doing the opposite of what unity means.\u201d<\/p>\n Two of the nations included in the travel ban \u2013 Haiti and Iran \u2013 are participating in the tournament.<\/p>\n Asked repeatedly about the travel restrictions, Giuliani kept reiterating that players and direct support staff from banned countries will be issued visas, but that fans may not. \u201cVisas are a national security issue, each and every one of those there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n But the US has already refused to issue visas for some members of the Iranian delegation to attend the World Cup group stage draw on Friday.<\/p>\n Giuliani also dismissed the effect of the travel ban on Haitian fans, noting that the national team\u2019s coach, Sebastien Migne, recently said that he has never been to the Caribbean nation, which has been plagued by gang violence, humanitarian crises and natural disasters.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s ban also applies to Haitians outside Haiti. And Norona highlighted that the crackdown could affect Haitians inside the US who may want to cheer on their team as the Trump administration continues to roll back immigration protections for the country.<\/p>\n Norona said Trump\u2019s policies are the \u201cantithesis\u201d to the World Cup, which is synonymous with openness and welcoming people from across the globe.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are concerned that this will create a non-welcoming and overall hostile environment for the fans and players and everybody who is involved in the World Cup,\u201d Norona told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n Giuliani did not rule out Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids targeting undocumented immigrants at World Cup venues.<\/p>\n The US is home to about 14 million people without regular immigration status, including many from the football-loving Latino community, who have lived in the country for years and established new lives and families.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve known the president for 25 years,\u201d said Giuliani, who is the son of Trump\u2019s former personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. \u201cThe president does not rule out anything that will help make American citizens safer.\u201d<\/p>\n Norona said the immigration raids do not make anyone safe.<\/p>\n \u201cThey just promote a chilling effect for the rest of the fans and the rest of the football community that want to attend their games,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n It is not just undocumented immigrants who have been on the receiving end of Trump\u2019s crackdown.<\/p>\n Over the past months, the administration has pushed to deport people who are in the country legally, including visitors, foreign students and permanent residents, over criticism of Israel.<\/p>\nRecommended Stories <\/h2>\n
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