Vancouver council to confront ICE issue ahead of World Cup
CBC
Vancouver city council is getting ready to debate whether it should take a position on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents operating in the city during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Councillors Pete Fry and Sean Orr will bring forward a motion on Feb. 26 calling on Vancouver to oppose ICE agents performing security duties during the tournament.
While there are no confirmed plans for ICE agents to operate in the city, Fry says he wants council to state its position in advance.
"We really don't want ICE security operatives here… it would be prudent of us to get ahead of it," he said.
The motion comes amid heightened local attention on ICE, including protests and boycotts in Vancouver tied to fatal shootings involving the agency in the United States.
Since returning to office, President Donald Trump has overseen a major expansion of the agency responsible for enforcing immigration within the country. ICE has ramped up arrests and been repeatedly accused of using excessive force in its operations.
Fry said the motion was prompted by reports that ICE agents could assist U.S. diplomatic security at the Milan Olympics.
Fry said he is concerned about how quickly new ICE agents are being hired and what that could mean for their training standards.
"We know that training went from five months for an agent to about 47 days … undertrained foreign security operatives coming to our country potentially is a problem," he said.
The U.S. team is not scheduled to play any group matches in Canada and would only appear in Vancouver if it advanced to the Round of 16 knockout game on July 7.
Using a simplified statistical model, two UBC statisticians estimate that scenario has less than a one per cent chance of happening.
"The basics of the probability calculation is to assume that every possible outcome is equally likely for every match that's played … once you make that assumption, you come up with the probability of the United States playing a game in Vancouver of being a little bit less than half of a per cent," said Daniel McDonald, a professor in UBC’s statistics department.
Even with the low odds, Fry said the motion is about stating the city's position and alerting the federal government in advance.
In a statement, Canada's Border Services Agency said the federal government is co-ordinating with American and Mexican border partners for the World Cup while maintaining full Canadian control over admissibility decisions.
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Vancouver city council is getting ready to debate whether it should take a position on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents operating in the city during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
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