Vancouver councillors want ICE agents banned from FIFA World Cup events

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.

Two Vancouver city councillors are pushing to ban U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers from local FIFA World Cup events this year.

Pete Fry of the Green Party and Sean Orr of COPE are presenting a motion later this month calling for ICE agents to be prohibited from joining the U.S. men’s soccer team, should the conditions be met for the players to compete on Canadian soil this summer.

Fry told CTV News the precautionary motion was prompted by the recent revelation that ICE would be deployed to Italy for the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.

“ICE and some of their operations in the United States have caused a lot of political friction, let’s say, and a lot of anxiety—and we’ve seen it manifest as protests and boycotts,” Fry said.

Related: Hootsuite targeted in anti-ICE protest as Pattison Developments nixes controversial deal

“The idea here is to get ahead of that potential and ask the federal government to make it pretty clear that ICE would not be welcome to come to Vancouver to perform security in any capacity.”

According to a social media statement from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the purpose of the ICE presence at the Olympics is to “vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organizations.”

Fry noted there are already ICE personnel in Vancouver working with the U.S. consulate, but suggested many residents would object to agents being deployed during the World Cup.

“We don’t want it disrupting the success of an event that we, collectively, have invested a lot of money in,” he added.

Fry pointed to recent anti-ICE protests in the city, including one held outside the headquarters of Hootsuite that was prompted by the tech company’s decision to contract social media services to the U.S. law enforcement agency.

Concerns around the conduct of ICE officers have become heightened in recent weeks following the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota.

In a statement, the Vancouver Host Committee told CTV News it has “not had any dealings” with ICE related to the World Cup. The Vancouver Police Department said it has not received word that any foreign law enforcement agencies will be present during the event either.

Fry noted the news of ICE’s presence in Italy came just days before the start of the Olympics.

“I think it’s prudent to get ahead of this,” he said.

In a statement, an ICE spokesperson noted the agents posted at U.S. consulates in Canadian cities are not armed, and “do not conduct operational activities in Canada, such as making arrests or executing search warrants.”

They do work with local law enforcement agencies on cases involving weapon smuggling, human trafficking and other crimes, the spokesperson added, while describing the relationship between Homeland Security and Canada “longstanding and productive.”