A local group of community organizers is making sure that fear of immigration officials is not keeping people from gathering to watch a FIFA World Cup game.
Eva Arreguin and Sandra Avalos are curating local No ICE in the Cup events. It’s part of a national initiative that includes watch parties and community art projects.
“The World Cup deserves to be a safe space for families and people to unite and celebrate...the sport of the people, soccer, futbol,” Arreguin said. “We're very excited to be getting our messaging out that ICE does not belong at the World Cup.”
The group launched the initiative with a community mural painting event Sunday at the Bargain City Bazaar in West Oak Cliff. Two watch parties are scheduled: The first is on Thursday at Gustos Burger Bar in Fort Worth for the South Korea v. Mexico game.
Attorneys with the Mexican American Bar Association will be on hand to provide free legal consultation, and organizers will distribute information on immigration resources and preparedness kits in the event someone is detained.
“We just want to make sure that folks are proactive and have a plan in case it is to happen,” Avalos said.
Gustos owner Johnny Arguello, who has hosted community events such as voter registration drives and fundraisers for people in need, said he immediately jumped on board to provide the space for the watch party. He hopes people have fun but also feel empowered.
“If they could educate people, leave with some better knowledge, that would just be incredible,” he said. “Then also just working with those organizations more. I think that's the idea because like, you know, one-time events are amazing, but there's always stuff going on.”
The second watch party is being planned in Oak Cliff on July 19. The location hasn’t been announced.
Both watch parties will highlight a portable mural designed by Oak Cliff based artist Armando Aguirre, who recently painted a mural as a tribute to the victims of last year’s shooting at the Dallas ICE Field office, Norlan Guzman Fuentes and Miguel Angel Garcia Hernandez.
Avalos said the initiative is a way to share information, especially as immigration arrests remain high.
Trump administration officials said there would be no large-scale immigration enforcement at World Cup matches, but the presence of ICE officers have raised concerns in Arlington and other host cities across the U.S.
“ICE is very active,” Avalos said. "We have even heard of spaces where [people] are being targeted just by being intoxicated in public. It starts with a simple charge of public intoxication or just a simple traffic violation of not stopping too long at a stop sign, and that automatically could trigger an ICE hold.”
She and other volunteers suggest people carry their A-number, or Alien Registration Number, with them; it’s assigned by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to track a person’s immigration history. She also recommends people keep family members’ phone numbers in their pockets.
“That way if you are detained, the fastest way to get a loved one is giving them a call,” she said. “You do get a free call. We just want to make sure folks know that.”
Immigration attorney and Mexican American Bar Association representative Cristina Salazar said as people are out celebrating, one way they can protect themselves is to not drink and drive.
“If you want to have fun, take a Lyft or Uber that you can use and avoid getting arrested altogether,” Salazar said. "It' best not to take those risks during this time.”
In cities that have 278g agreements with ICE, an arrest can lead to an encounter with immigration officials right away.
Arreguin said her hope for these events is “to prepare and meet our people in the best ways they need, through art, through activism, through organizing, through care,” she said. “But also creating spaces of joy and celebration through a really exciting time, which is the World Cup.”
Priscilla Rice is KERA’s communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
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