Agents Do Not Carry Guns in Canada Ahead of World Cup: ICE

OTTAWA – United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Canada don’t carry firearms, the agency said following questions about a potential ICE presence at upcoming FIFA World Cup games.

An ICE spokesperson said personnel from the agency’s Homeland Security Investigations branch work with Canadian partners on joint investigations involving narcotics, weapons smuggling and human trafficking. The spokesperson said they also investigate child exploitation and help to identify and rescue minor victims.

“HSI special agents do not conduct operational activities in Canada, such as making arrests or executing search warrants,” the spokesperson said.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) currently operates five offices in Canada, including in Toronto and Vancouver—both set to host World Cup matches this summer.

An ICE spokesperson said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) personnel are stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa and consulates in Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal, emphasising that agents in Canada do not carry firearms.

Last month, Toronto city council approved a motion introduced by Mayor Olivia Chow opposing the presence of ICE agents during World Cup events in the city.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree reiterated that ICE has no authority or jurisdiction within Canada, noting that law enforcement responsibilities rest solely with Canadian agencies.

Canada will co-host the 39-day tournament alongside the United States and Mexico, with 13 matches scheduled to be held in Toronto and Vancouver.

Vancouver city councillors also brought forward a motion opposing any ICE deployment at World Cup games in February, but it did not go forward.

A report from Amnesty International on human rights and the World Cup warned last week about the potential for protests if “the U.S. team is drawn to play in Canada in later rounds and ICE personnel are deployed to provide security.”

ICE played a role in security at this winter’s Olympic Games in Italy. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a social media post at the time that “obviously, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries.”

Julia Sande, Amnesty International Canada’s strategic litigation, refugee and migrant rights campaigner, said in an interview last week that the presence of ICE officers could “certainly send a chilling message, could certainly cause fear within communities about showing up to games or events.”

The Amnesty International report said ICE and other agencies “have been transformed into a paramilitary-style operation, which has involved masked, armed federal agents breaking down doors and into homes without warrants and arbitrarily arresting, detaining, abusing, and killing community members across the USA.”

ICE has been mired in controversy and pursued by lawsuits over its agents’ aggressive tactics and alleged violations of civil rights while rounding up vast numbers of immigrants for deportation.

Federal agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minnesota during an immigration enforcement operation in that state. At least three dozen people, including one Canadian, have died in ICE custody since January 2025, when U.S. President Donald Trump was inaugurated.