Immigrants’ rights advocates in New Hampshire and the Northeast are raising concerns about the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the World Cup this summer. Several of them issued a joint travel advisory to the thousands of fans that will be attending games, hosting watch parties, or travelling through the region.
“It's unfortunate because for billions of people, this is the most anticipated and culturally significant and important sporting event in the world,” said Dylan Hoey from the New Hampshire Alliance for Immigrants and Refugees. “The way that we treat visitors, both to our state and to our country, is a reflection of who we are as a people.”
For visitors from abroad, the organizations warned travelers to be careful at airports and other ports of entry because of concerns over social media screening and searches of electronic devices.
While travelling in the U.S., the advisory asks visitors to carry ID and status documents, as well as the contact information of an emergency contact, a trusted attorney, and the nearest embassy or consulate in case they're detained.
Hoey said this was especially relevant for visitors driving through New Hampshire to get to a game in Massachusetts, New Jersey or Canada since the New Hampshire State Police is one of 22 organizations in the state that have signed an agreement to work closely with ICE. New Hampshire is the only state in the region to have one of these agreements, other than the Massachusetts Department of Corrections.
“Anyone that is traveling on toll roads or state highways, a traffic violation could lead to an immigration enforcement event,” he said. “We're really encouraging people that are traveling – whether they're just going over to a friend's house or they're actually transiting the region on a route to Boston – is that they're aware of their rights.”
For immigrant fans in the region, advocates are concerned that watch parties at local bars and restaurants could be a target for ICE raids. Because of that, the coalition is giving toolkits to local businesses in several languages explaining their rights, what to say if ICE shows up and to ask to see a warrant from officers.
For other New Hampshire advocates, the World Cup is a chance to highlight the increasingly widespread enforcement with international media. Writer Kim Herdman-Shapiro has been involved with No ICE New Hampshire and was part of the effort to oppose a plan for an ICE facility in Merrimack that was ultimately cancelled.
Now, she is coordinating the Project World Cup Spotlight, a series of events at matches designed to protest conditions in ICE detention facilities. She said they are planning a protest at a fan event in Boston and a visibility brigade on interstates overpasses, among other actions.
“The world's media is now coming to us. We have to see if we can try and steal a little bit of that limelight,” she said. “And use it to talk about the not so pleasant aspect of what's going on in the summer, which is the conditions that detainees are living in and the fear that immigrant communities are living with.”
The first World Cup game in New England is a match between Scotland and Haiti scheduled for Saturday evening at Gillette Stadium.
