Scotland’s opening fixture with Haiti at the World Cup is at ‘legitimate risk’ of being targeted by ICE agents, according to a leading human rights group.
The nations will contest the Group C tie on June 13 at the Gillette Stadium in Boston – a city home to an estimated 25,000 Haitians.
Haiti’s first appearance in football’s showpiece tournament since 1974 arrives against a backdrop of huge uncertainty for their immigrant populations in the United States, with the Trump administration having sought to end their Temporary Protective Status against deportation.
The matter is currently under review by the US Supreme Court, sparking grave fears for deportations if the status is revoked during the World Cup. Citing the potential for raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operatives, Minky Worden, Human Rights Watch’s director of global initiatives, told Daily Mail Sport: ‘There’s a huge Haitian community in Boston and many of them are there legally in the US, because there is a temporary protective status. They’re legally here and they’ve been targeted by the Trump administration.
‘I’m following very closely whether the Supreme Court gives the Trump administration the ability to take their status away. And if they do, you could really have ICE enforcement actions in Boston.
‘I’ve identified this as a legitimate risk. The men’s national team hasn’t qualified for 52 years and they’re going to want to cheer their national team. The Haitian people have a right to attend and to celebrate.’
Donald Trump, pictured alongside FIFA president Gianni Infantino, could have his ICE agents target Scotland’s World Cup clash with Haiti
The picture around the deployment of ICE officials at the World Cup remains hazy, with the agency’s acting director Todd Lyons stating earlier this year that they would be a ‘key part’ of the competition’s wider security.
That is not thought to extend to a presence inside host stadiums, but could mean activities around the grounds.
Worden added: ‘I think there’s some real, meaningful risk there (around stadiums and fan zones), because they’ve been targeted as a group and because they are racially identifiable.’
Referencing debunked claims that Haitians in Ohio were abducting and eating pets, perpetuated in 2024 by JD Vance, who is now the US vice president, Worden added: ‘They have already been targeted by the Vice President Vance, who gave an enormous piece of misinformation that they were eating cats and dogs. They were not.
‘It’s a group that has already been targeted, is vulnerable, and has every right to celebrate. Gianni Infantino (the FIFA president) ought to be standing with the Haitian fans and the Haitian men’s national team.
‘They have a right to play without fear that family members are going to be rounded up.’
FIFA did not respond to a request for comment.
A statement issued to Daily Mail Sport on behalf of Massachusetts governor Maura Healey read: ‘People from around the world know that Massachusetts is a place that is going to protect their rights and safety.
‘It’s why I’ve spoken out and will continue to speak out against ICE and what they’re doing to create fear in our communities and make people less safe.’
