INGLEWOOD, Calif. – A peaceful protest took place on Sunday in a Home Depot parking lot less than a mile and a half away from SoFi Stadium, as residents and local organizers spoke out about the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) potential involvement during the FIFA World Cup.

The protest comes two days after Unite Here Local 11, a union supporting over 2,000 bartenders, cooks, dishwashers, and service workers at SoFi Stadium, reached a 96 percent vote to authorize a strike after a two-day vote, union officials said. 

The organization is asking ICE and Border Patrol to avoid patrolling the stadium during the World Cup. They are also asking for workers to be paid higher wages, work limitations and more protections on subcontractors, as well as the removal of artificial intelligence that can take over human jobs.

Angela Sestrich, a suite attendant at SoFi Stadium and a member of Unite Here Local 11, shared with Goalkeepers that the union is prepared to go on strike. 

“We will meet with our constituents and decide when we want to go on strike. We are very much ready to get ICE out, we don't want ICE in our stadium,” she said. “We don't want our workers or our guests to be afraid or intimidated by ICE or anybody else trying to interfere and scare someone into someplace they don't wanna be.”

Negotiations between the union and FIFA regarding their demands will continue on Monday, less than a week away from the opening match between the U.S. men's national soccer team and Paraguay at Sofi Stadium on June 12.

Sestrich said that FIFA is requesting the social security numbers of Sofi Stadium employees, which has made many members feel uncomfortable. 

“FIFA is trying to get all of our employees’ personal information, our Social Security numbers and they want to keep it,” Sestrich said. “We don't know what they're gonna do with it. There's no reason for them to have that. We don't trust FIFA with our information, and we don't approve of them having our information. Our employer already has all the information they need.”

Protestors heard from over 10 local grassroots organizations about the new developments with ICE nearly a year after the ICE raids began in Los Angeles under the Trump Administration. Signs were held that stated, “Say no to FIFA Ice out of the World Cup,” highlighting the looming tensions between the highly competitive sporting event and community members. 

Activists led attendees in a chant, “What do we want? Ice out of FIFA. When do we want it? now.”

Boycott Home Depot Coalition, an organization that fights against ICE raids that have targeted migrant day laborers seeking employment on Home Depot premises, expressed that ICE can not be trusted. Home Depot is an official sponsor of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Tournament. 

“ICE has their eye on SoFi,” said Miriam Arghandiwal, an organizer with the Boycott Home Depot Coalition. “The same way we said no to ICE at Home Depots last summer, we must say no to ICE at SoFi this summer at the World Cup games. There's no reason for immigration officers to be involved at a sporting event. They have no reason at all for being there.”

Community members stood in solidarity and in support of the union workers and local organization groups. 

Lizet Solis, a Los Angeles native, shared that she is not in support of ICE being present at the stadium or in the community. “I absolutely hate the fact that ICE is in our communities. They're targeting our people, my people. I come from immigrant parents myself, and this is definitely a sensitive topic to me,” she said.  

Ariyana Griffin is a graduate of Morgan State University’s School of Global Journalism and Communication.