HRW urges FIFA minute of silence over US ICE killings at 2026 World Cup

Human Rights Watch called on FIFA to observe a minute of silence before the 2026 World Cup final to honor two immigrants killed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents – a Colombian man in Maine and a Mexican man in Houston. The organization criticized the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, the restrictive U.S. visa policies that barred fans, journalists and officials from several countries, and the failure of FIFA to uphold its pledged “most inclusive” tournament standards. U.S. officials defended the policies as lawful under the First Amendment, while FIFA president Gianni Infantino said immigration decisions remain the responsibility of national authorities. In a related incident, Argentine players displayed a “Las Malvinas son argentinas” flag after beating England; the U.S. government affirmed their right to free expression, and FIFA opened an investigation. Rights groups, including the Sport & Rights Alliance, documented numerous visa denials for fans from Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and Uzbekistan, and highlighted ICE’s increased arrests and the deaths of migrants during the tournament period.