Will Lincoln Financial Field have an ICE presence at Monday’s Club World Cup game?

When the Club World Cup kicks off Saturday night in Miami, so will the involvement of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as well as U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials, working alongside local law enforcement to double as security for the event.

This is not uncommon, as, according to a CBP spokesperson, these agencies routinely work with local law enforcement at big sporting events, including Super Bowl LIX in February between the Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Club World Cup is beginning amid nationwide protests of the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

The first Club World Cup game at Lincoln Financial Field is at 9 p.m. Monday. However, no officials from the city, FIFA, or the Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE, CBP, and the Secret Service, would comment on whether ICE or CBP would serve in the same capacity here.

Additionally, none of the Homeland Security agencies would confirm an intent to be in all 11 cities hosting Club World Cup matches, as they did Wednesday regarding the first game in Miami. Between Saturday’s kickoff in Miami and Philly’s first match Monday between Brazilian club Flamengo and Tunisian side Espérance, there are eight matches across seven cities, with two games scheduled in Miami during that window.

“U.S. Customs and Border Protection is committed to working with our local and federal partners to ensure the FIFA Club World Cup is safe for everyone involved, as we do with every major sporting event, including the Super Bowl,” a CBP spokesperson said in a statement to The Inquirer. “Our mission remains unchanged.”

Fans of Flamengo canceled a planned Club World Cup party in Boston amid fears of an ICE raid. CBP posted on Facebook that agents would be “suited and booted” at the tournament. The post later was removed, reportedly after FIFA reached out to the agency.

A FIFA spokesperson declined to comment on the presence of Homeland Security officials at CWC matches and how it might affect ticket sales, saying that soccer’s governing body has “no control over where federal law enforcement chooses to be.”

FIFA has seen a decline in ticket sales for the Club World Cup, which offers a split of $1 billion to participating teams. At their initial offering in December, the cheapest tickets for the opening match at the Linc hovered around $85 per seat.

As of Thursday evening, tickets were as low as $30.56.

On Monday, delegates from the host cities strategically planning next year’s FIFA World Cup held a panel and Q&A session in New York City to discuss topics that included safety, security, and immigration.

During that event, Meg Kane, host city executive of FIFA Philly 26, said her team, along with the other 11 host delegates, is not affiliated with the Club World Cup. FIFA has assumed all planning and preparation for the event from a field office in Miami, she said.

The role of host city delegations is to support the lead-up, coordination, and long-term impact of the World Cup, set to begin next June.

“We recognize that we are planning amid uncertainty,” Kane said. “We have to be really good at operating amid all of that uncertainty. For each of our cities, we want to be prepared to make any person [who] is coming and makes a decision to come to the United States and come to this World Cup feel like they are welcomed.

“We do not play a role, necessarily, in what is happening in terms of the decisions that are made. But what we can say, with this current administration … is that there are certain situations that we are watching and monitoring closely.”