Amnesty International and dozens of U.S. civil and human rights groups issued a 鈥� travel advisory鈥� Thursday, warning tournament visitors of 鈥渞ising authoritarianism and increasing violence鈥� in the United States during President aggressive enforcement.
The groups said the advisory was necessary 鈥渋n light of the deteriorating human rights situation in the United States and in the absence of meaningful action and concrete guarantees from FIFA, host cities, or the U.S. government.鈥�
The advisory says visitors may be arbitrarily denied entry to the country, detained in 鈥渋nhumane鈥� conditions or subjected to invasive phone and social media searches. It points to the aggressive immigration surges in cities including Los Angeles, Chicago and Minneapolis that led to accusations of racial profiling and the violent suppression of protests.
The message was condemned by tourism officials, who said the groups were threatening the livelihoods of service industry workers in an attempt to achieve their political goals.
Geoff Freeman, president & CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, said there are legitimate concerns about U.S. entry policies but they’re being blown out of proportion. There were 67 million international travelers to the United States last year, he said in a statement.
鈥淭he notion that visiting America poses a meaningful safety risk is not a good-faith warning, it鈥檚 a political tactic designed to cause economic harm,鈥� Freeman said.
A FIFA spokesperson pointed to several statements and policies, including the federation’s governing documents, which say, 鈥淔IFA is committed to respecting all internationally recognized human rights and shall strive to promote the protection of these rights.”
The U.S. has seen a since Trump returned to the White House last year and with talk of making Canada a U.S. state, taking control of Greenland and questioning the value of NATO. The tourism industry is counting on a major boost from World Cup visitors, even as Trump’s for citizens of 19 countries has .
The administration is betting that its push to for visitors and excitement about the tournament will outweigh concerns that Trump鈥檚 immigration messaging undercuts the theme of global unity that the World Cup is meant to represent.
The tournament kicks off June 11 with games spread across North America, including 11 stadiums in the U.S. along with two in Canada and three in Mexico.
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