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The World Cup puts the US’s nightmarish immigration policies front and center

Despite promises of smooth travel for the tournament, fans’ and even players’ visa chaos further illustrates the Trump administration’s goals.

byGaby Del Valle

Jun 26, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT

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Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

Gaby Del Valleis a policy reporter at The Verge covering surveillance, the Department of Homeland Security, and the tech-right.

While European tourists marvel at ranch dressing, Buc-ee’s, and other wonders of Middle America, would-be World Cup attendees from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East have experienced a different American pastime: exclusion. President Donald Trump’s nakedly racist immigration policies have prevented scores of people from traveling to the United States for the event — even, in some cases, the players themselves.

Swiss forward Breel Embolo wasn’t allowed to board the team’s flight to the US because of a criminal conviction from 2018 and had to apply for an emergency visa. In the wake of the US’s attack on Iran, the Iranian team moved its training base from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico, after the State Department denied visas to several players. Customs and Border Protection agents detained Iraqi striker Aymen Hussein at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, where he was questioned for seven hours and had his phone searched. The team’s photographer was also detained and was denied entry into the US. CBP denied entry to Omar Abdulkadir Artan, who would have been the first Somali referee in World Cup history, because of “vetting concerns,” even though he had already been issued a visa.

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Fans, too, have been turned away. One Scottish visitor had his travel authorization revoked an hour before his flight took off. The Trump administration has justified these actions, emphasizing that traveling to the United States is a privilege, not a right — and suggesting that some of the athletes it has turned away are threats to America, despite being some of the world’s most gifted soccer players.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin — who also threatened

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