Ahead of World Cup, ICE says its agents don’t carry guns in Canada

News that ICE agents will be at the Olympics sparked concern for two Vancouver councillors about what will happen if the U.S. plays a FIFA match in the city.

OTTAWA — United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Canada don’t carry firearms, the agency said following questions about a potential ICE presence at upcoming FIFA World Cup games.

An ICE spokesperson said personnel from the agency’s Homeland Security Investigations branch work with Canadian partners on joint investigations involving narcotics, weapons smuggling and human trafficking. The spokesperson said they also investigate child exploitation and help to identify and rescue minor victims.

“HSI special agents do not conduct operational activities in Canada, such as making arrests or executing search warrants,” the spokesperson said.

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ICE currently has five offices in Canada, including in Toronto and Vancouver, cities which will host World Cup games this summer.

“HSI personnel are assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, and U.S. consulates in Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal. Our HSI agents do not carry firearms in Canada,” an ICE spokesperson said in an emailed statement. 

Toronto city council last month passed a motion brought forward by Mayor Olivia Chow opposing the presence of any ICE agents at upcoming World Cup games in the city.

A spokesperson for federal Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said last week ICE has no authority or jurisdiction on Canadian soil. Simon Lafortune said in an emailed statement Canadian law enforcement agencies are “solely responsible for law enforcement in Canada.”

Canada is co-hosting the 39-day tournament with the United States and Mexico. Thirteen matches are scheduled to take place in Toronto and Vancouver.

Vancouver city councillors also brought forward a motion opposing any ICE deployment at World Cup games in February, but it did not go forward.

A report from Amnesty International on human rights and the World Cup warned last week about the potential for protests if “the U.S. team is drawn to play in Canada in later rounds and ICE personnel are deployed to provide security.”

ICE played a role in security at this winter’s Olympic Games in Italy. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a social media post at the time that “obviously, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries.”

Julia Sande, Amnesty International Canada’s strategic litigation, refugee and migrant rights campaigner, said in an interview last week that the presence of ICE officers could “certainly send a chilling message, could certainly cause fear within communities about showing up to games or events.”

The Amnesty International report said ICE and other agencies “have been transformed into a paramilitary-style operation, which has involved masked, armed federal agents breaking down doors and into homes without warrants and arbitrarily arresting, detaining, abusing, and killing community members across the USA.”

ICE has been mired in controversy and pursued by lawsuits over its agents’ aggressive tactics and alleged violations of civil rights while rounding up vast numbers of immigrants for deportation.

Federal agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minnesota during an immigration enforcement operation in that state. At least three dozen people, including one Canadian, have died in ICE custody since January 2025, when U.S. President Donald Trump was inaugurated.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 6, 2026.

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press