Politics

How ICE melted from view at the World Cup

Published

2 months ago

July 12, 2026

Ahead of this year’s World Cup, Democrats had warned that immigration enforcement agents at matches were likely to cross the line with fans or players and create international incidents in the process. So far, those fears haven’t borne out.

As the tournament moves into its final week, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement division of the Homeland Security Department has stayed away from crowd control. Instead it has focused on joint efforts with law enforcement partners to combat counterfeiting and human trafficking around the tournament, which has seen large numbers of foreign attendees flock to the United States, Mexico and Canada in support of their teams.

Even Democrats are noticing the restraint which ICE has exercised around the matches.

“I have not seen, or have not heard of, any significant, serious report, which is really very good. I am happy to hear that,” said Rep. Nellie Pou, a Democratic member of the House Homeland Security Committee whose New Jersey district includes the area around Metlife Stadium that will host the tournament’s final match.

Pou, who had raised concerns about ICE at the sporting event in congressional hearings in the months before the game, attributed the low-profile approach ICE has taken to security at the matches to congressional oversight and “a change in the administration between Secretary Noem, who absolutely didn’t care about what was going on, and Secretary Mullin.”

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin has taken a more tempered and discreet approach to the agency’s enforcement operations than his predecessor Kristi Noem — mending some of the frayed relations she had with Capitol Hill. DHS has also played a major role at the World Cup in less controversial areas. Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Protective Service and the Coast Guard have helped down unmanned aerial vehicles such as drones operating near sporting arenas.

Rep. Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican who has chaired House Homeland Security Committee and advocated using sporting events as a diplomatic opportunity to showcase American power, was similarly pleased. While McCaul never joined Democrats in expressing fears about ICE’s conduct at games, he had repeatedly pressed DHS officials on the department’s plans for securing the World Cup.

Their role at the game “is not to deport a bunch of people,” McCaul said, crediting Mullin for the restraint. “Their role is to combat human trafficking. So far, they’ve been staying in that lane, and I think that’s a positive thing.”

Mainly, ICE has deployed agents that are part of the enforcement agency’s Homeland Security Investigations arm. That arm, unlike its deportation-focused counterpart Enforcement and Removal Operations, focuses on investigating serious criminal activity including trafficking, counterfeiting and child sexual abuse material.

“DHS will continue to work around the clock with federal, state and local partners to ensure a secure environment for the remainder of the 2026 FIFA World Cup,” the department said in a statement.

Mullin touted his department’s work on the World Cup in testimony to Congress last month, saying that “we’ve had no serious major incident,” and praising the department’s anti-human trafficking and counterfeiting work.

“Now, there’s a lot of fans that go around. Things happen. But there’s been no serious issue. We’ve had some threats come up. We’ve been able to knock it down because of our relationship with FBI plus ICE,” Mullin said. “We’ve got great reports back from our fan base.”

Asked by a reporter in late June whether ICE was given specific guidance to exercise restraint, Mullin said the fears were unfounded and “there was never guidance that needed to be given.”

“That was the left drumming up fear, and that’s all it was. ICE has always been there to protect the public, and that is what they continue to do every single day,” Mullin said. “The plan was always to keep the games safe and every stadium secure, even in sanctuary cities, and what we’ve proven through this is DHS is capable to work with sanctuary cities if they are willing to work with us, and when we do it together, we can keep everybody safe.”

There have still been immigration-related issues tied to the World Cup. In June, Custom and Border Protection barred a Somali-born referee who was trying to enter the United States, citing unspecified “vetting concerns.” The Trump administration was very strict about how long Iran’s national soccer team could stay in the United States for matches, often forcing the team to return to its base camp in Mexico shortly after playing.

But those issues are not the result of ICE actions, and those incidents have taken place out of major public view, reducing the impact they’ve had on the perception of the games.

Still, some Trump critics on Blue Light News say those actions could hinder the broader ability of the U.S. to use the World Cup as a forum to showcase the best America has to offer to global audiences.

Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, a California Democrat who has promoted U.S. “sports diplomacy” efforts, said that while she was “grateful that ICE has not been terrorizing fans,” she warned that some of those other moves are creating the appearance of a double standard, given that FIFA has declined to criticize those moves from the Trump administration.

“You’ve had the referees not allowed. You had teams, players, who have been held up for hours and hours for searches. And the treatment of the Iranian team,” she said. “When you’re talking about sports diplomacy and you’re talking about a worldwide competitive event that really is about unifying the world through this sport and then you have multiple instances where players — the true ambassadors behind this sports diplomacy — are being mistreated, I call foul.”

Sophia Cai contributed to this report.

Politics

Crypto weighs revenge against Democrats — and the risks that come with it

Published

3 hours ago

September 23, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The cryptocurrency industry is at a political crossroads.

Reeling from the demise of its longtime top legislative priority, crypto companies must now decide how scorched-earth to go against Senate Democrats, who last week voted unanimously against the so-called Clarity Act, a sweeping bill that would create a bespoke new regulatory framework for digital assets.

A crypto-backed PAC network’s move this week provides a hint of what may be to come. The group, known as Fairshake, announced it would spend at least $30 million to help block Democrat Sherrod Brown from recapturing a pivotal Ohio Senate seat, representing the first major signal of how the industry plans to deploy its massive campaign war chest in the final weeks before the 2026 midterms.

Some crypto executives have publicly signaled an appetite in recent days for punishing Democrats. But a partisan strategy carries major political risk for the industry: A broad offensive against Democrats ahead of an election where they have a chance to reclaim power on Capitol Hill could further alienate lawmakers the industry may soon need to revive its agenda.

“As much as some people may want to, they can’t wave a wand and make Democrats go away,” said Sheila Warren, the former CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation, an industry trade group. “Every industry — not just crypto — has to figure out what to do with that reality.”

The crypto industry’s spending could have immediate consequences after the election. Democrats are signaling that a Senate GOP-aligned spending spree would suppress any appetite for lame duck dealmaking involving the Clarity bill — although it remains a long shot that it would come back to life regardless. A Senate Democratic aide involved in the crypto effort said a full-scale assault on the party’s Senate candidates “would absolutely eviscerate any hope” of a post-election deal.

The Fairshake PAC group, funded primarily by crypto firms Coinbase and Ripple and venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz, had more than $120 million at its disposal as of the end of August. It has previously deployed its war chest to help members of both parties who support industry-friendly policies.

Fairshake is preparing to announce additional spending decisions supporting both Democrats and Republicans in the coming days, according to a spokesperson for the group, Geoff Vetter. But it’s unclear what races — or which chamber — it will target next.

Kara Calvert, Coinbase’s vice president of U.S. policy, said in an interview that bipartisanship has been crypto’s “superpower.”

“Nobody is eager to erode that,” she said.

Though Fairshake says it will maintain a bipartisan approach, it hasn’t specified what shape that will take. One potential avenue for the PAC is to continue to back crypto-friendly Democrats running for the House — where the Clarity bill advanced with 78 Democratic votes last year — but primarily help Republicans in the Senate.

Fairshake spent in favor of several Senate Democrats in the 2024 elections, including in battleground general election races in Michigan and Arizona, where it backed Democratic Sens. Elissa Slotkin and Ruben Gallego, respectively. It also plowed more than $40 million into the effort to help defeat Brown in his 2024 reelection campaign — by far its biggest spend of the cycle.

This time, Republicans are pressing the industry to recalibrate its approach and ditch the Democrats.

“To reward people who voted against the motion to proceed on Clarity after the Democrats got 126 amendments in the bill would be a huge mistake,” said Sen. Cynthia Lummis, the crypto bill’s leading champion in the Senate. The Wyoming Republican is retiring when her term ends in January.

Democrats, who feel increasingly confident about their chances in November despite the GOP’s spending advantages, say Republicans are trying to play the crypto industry.

It’s “been the goal of Republican colleagues all along to try to get folks to invest in races, versus them trying to get a piece of legislation done, and someone needs to call the Republicans out on their bullshit,” said Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), who added: “Sherrod’s gonna win.”

Politics

Can Mitch Landrieu break through in 2028?

Published

3 hours ago

September 23, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Can Mitch Landrieu break through in 2028?

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Politics

Sen. Jon Husted: Iran war ‘needs to come to an end as quickly as possible’

Published

18 hours ago

September 22, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Sen. Jon Husted became the latest battleground Republican this week to call for a quick end to the Iran war, as panic grows over how high gas prices and President Donald Trump’s agenda could imperil the party’s chances in November.

“The war needs to come to an end as quickly as possible so that we can lower gas prices,” the Ohio senator told Blue Light News, in his furthest comments yet on the matter.

Coming after Iowa Senate nominee Ashley Hinson, who broke from Trump over the war on Monday, and Michigan Senate nominee Mike Rogers, who followed suit hours later, Husted’s comments are another example of the pressure he and other Republicans are under to address prices at the pump. Several candidates are creating some distance from Trump, as voters continue to blame the president for the current economy and the Iran conflict for high costs of living.

Husted said in the interview that he still thinks Iran needs to reach a deal with Trump to end the conflict, but added: “I don’t know anybody that doesn’t want the war to come to an end.”

He has a finer line to walk with Trump in his state, and Republicans close to him say he can’t and won’t completely break with the president. Husted does not plan to support the Democratic-led war powers resolution when it comes up for a vote in the Senate this week, a spokesperson said. And Trump and Vice President JD Vance are expected to visit the state in the coming weeks to shore up his campaign and drive GOP turnout.

Husted is staring down a tight race against former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, where millions in spending and recent polling have put Brown slightly ahead. Top Hill Republicans and Senate GOP operatives have said the Ohio Senate race is among their primary concerns in the battle to keep control of the chamber.

But Ohio is just one in a series of battlegrounds where rising gas prices have become a defining issue. Beyond Hinson and Rogers, a growing number of Republicans are starting to call for emergency actions like a diesel export ban to lower gas prices, including Iowa GOP Reps. Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks.

“Hinson broke the dam,” said one GOP operative, who was granted anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), who is locked in an incredibly competitive race, called Tuesday for a diesel export ban to provide voters relief. He didn’t mention the Iran war.

The panic is being felt most acutely in the Midwest, as high gas and diesel prices and Trump’s tariffs hammer families, truckers and farmers just a few weeks ahead of the peak harvest season with no relief in sight.

By Sunday night, Rogers had filmed an ad at a grocery store decrying high prices and, straight to camera, breaking with Trump to call for an end to the Iran war, according to two Republicans involved in the matter, granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations.

Rogers’ team was putting the finishing touches on the ad Monday morning when Hinson posted her break with Trump over the war directly on social media.

“The war’s just gone on too long. Mike still thinks Iran shouldn’t have a nuclear weapon, but we originally thought this would take six weeks,” said one person with direct knowledge of the conversations in Rogers’ camp about the move. “Voters have been paying for it at their kitchen tables for too long.”

Michigan’s GOP nominee for governor, Rep. John James, also said Tuesday the Iran war needs to end “quickly.” And Rep. Tom Tiffany, Wisconsin’s GOP governor nominee, said Tuesday he believes “we should be exiting Iran, that it’s time to move on, we’ve degraded their nuclear facilities, we’ve degraded their military … time to come home, take care of business here in America.”

Trump, for his part, told reporters Tuesday that he asked his team to consider a diesel export ban, and that his administration is mulling it.

But the move is rife with internal GOP fighting behind the scenes: Trump’s team is getting an earful from GOP lawmakers in oil states who oppose the move, according to four people with direct knowledge of the matter who were granted anonymity to discuss private conversations. That makes any decision before the midterms highly problematic with at least one corner of the party.

Both the top House GOP leaders — Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise — have opposed similar measures from the past to protect their oil state of Louisiana. The Texas GOP delegation is also “strongly opposed,” according to another Republican.

Husted told Blue Light News on Tuesday that he supports his state legislature suspending Ohio’s gas tax for a period. Democrat Amy Acton, who is running for governor, called for a gas tax suspension Monday. Her GOP opponent Vivek Ramaswamy and a broader swath of Republicans called for the state legislature to convene and pass legislation to suspend the state’s gas tax hours later.

“I think in the long run we are going to have lower gas prices,” Husted said, citing the war in Ukraine as a factor for spiking diesel costs as well as the war with Iran. “It’s taking longer than any of us wish it would. So in the interim, while those things are concluding, the idea of providing relief from the gas tax for Ohioans for a short period of time is a reasonable thing for Governor [Mike] DeWine to consider.”