{"id":81793,"date":"2026-06-16T19:31:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T02:31:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=81793"},"modified":"2026-06-16T19:31:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T02:31:20","slug":"latino-immigrants-in-georgia-navigate-passion-fear-ahead-of-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=81793","title":{"rendered":"Latino Immigrants in Georgia Navigate Passion, Fear Ahead of World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By<\/span>Johanes Rosello<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Children attend a soccer camp for Latino youth in Honeysuckle Park, about 15 miles northeast of metro Atlanta. (Credit: Johanes Rosello)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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ATLANTA \u2014 As millions of fans enthusiastically follow the 2026 FIFA World Cup, undocumented immigrants in Georgia \u2014 which will host eight matches \u2014\u00a0fear the increased spotlight also exposes them to greater vulnerability of being detained.<\/p>\n

With the sport\u2019s deep roots in Latin America, that fear is prompting many Latino immigrants to find ways to participate while minimizing their risks.<\/p>\n

Marcela (we are not using her real name because she is undocumented) is originally from Ecuador. The mother of two children, ages four and eight, she says she plans to watch the games from the safety of her own home.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my family, we used to watch matches in public places. We can\u2019t do that anymore. We no longer have that freedom,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re afraid because we\u2019ve seen so many things happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Ecuador\u2019s team is not scheduled to play in Georgia during the tournament, Marcela says that initially didn\u2019t dampen her enthusiasm.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first, we thought about buying tickets because it\u2019s happening right here at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but because of the fear, we\u2019ve decided to set everything up at home \u2014 our TV, popcorn, food,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\u2018Retreating inward\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Marcela spoke as her children attended a soccer camp for Latino youth organized by the Latino Community Fund (LCF), an organization dedicated to investing in, strengthening and advocating for Latino families in Georgia. LCF has operated the camp over the past four years at Honeysuckle Park, located in a historically Latino area of Doraville, about 15 miles northeast of metro Atlanta.<\/p>\n

For many parents the camp has become much more than a recreational activity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re living in a reality where families question whether it\u2019s necessary to go out at all,\u201d noted Pedro Viloria, LCF\u2019s director of community impact. \u201cWe are definitely seeing a community retreating inward. People don\u2019t want to go out, and when they do, they do it strategically \u2014 to buy groceries or take their children to school. Some are even avoiding doctor visits.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Viloria, that sense of insecurity highlights the need for organizations like LCT to bring services and activities to impacted communities where they are. Pointing to the families at the camp, he said most live in the immediate vicinity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are many people who literally walk from their homes to the park. That\u2019s the idea \u2014 not for people to come to us, but for us to go to them and bring that joy, that celebration and that sense of protection to where they are,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u2018We\u2019ve been targeted\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Georgia ranks among U.S. states with the\u00a0highest number of detained immigrants<\/a>\u00a0in the country (Texas, Louisiana and\u00a0California<\/a>\u00a0are the top three), according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), a nonpartisan research center at Syracuse University.<\/p>\n

And while Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin\u00a0told CBS News recently<\/a>\u00a0that immigration enforcement operations would not be conducted at World Cup sporting events, he stopped short of guaranteeing that ICE would not arrest immigrants during the tournament.<\/p>\n

Aceli Zenil, a community leader with the non-profit Amigos de la Comunidad (Friends of the Community), says that reality has transformed how families navigate daily life and experience major events such as the World Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day people are being taken away \u2014 people who have families, people who were studying, people who weren\u2019t doing anything wrong,\u201d Zenil said. \u201cIt has had a major impact on the community and has increased the number of people asking for food and diapers for their children because the father is in immigration custody, or the mother is, or both.\u201d<\/p>\n

ICE data shows the US deported 442,637 immigrants during fiscal year 2025. The agency does not break down those figures by state.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not experiencing this World Cup the way we would like to because we\u2019re afraid to go places,\u201d said Araceli Barrientos, whose children attend the LCF soccer camp and who also volunteers with the organization. \u201cThere are threats, and we don\u2019t know whether they\u2019re real \u2014 whether people could be stopped and asked about their immigration status. The fear extends even to going to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added, \u201cIt\u2019s unfortunate because our community could have brought more business and revenue, but instead we\u2019ve been targeted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018It helps us forget\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Barrientos, who was born in Mexico and comes from a soccer-loving family, says she plans to attend some World Cup-related activities in downtown Atlanta while taking precautions. She refuses to live in fear and does not want to pass that fear on to her children, ages 18, 11 and 4.<\/p>\n

\u201cI drive as little as possible,\u201d she said, adding she and her husband often avoid venturing out together. \u201cWe don\u2019t want both of us to be at risk at the same time. It\u2019s very sad what\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

As she watched her children run freely across the soccer field, Adriana (we are not using her real name because she is undocumented) enjoyed a brief pause from her daily worries.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s beautiful because it helps us forget, even for a little while, what we\u2019re currently going through. We\u2019re treated as if we were something terrible,\u201d she said. \u201cBut being here and talking with other people helps us forget for a moment. Then the activities end, and we return to reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adriana, originally from Guatemala, explained that while people have not stopped celebrating, gatherings have become much smaller and more private.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore, people celebrated outdoors. Families would bring tables outside their homes and gather together. Now, out of fear, people stay indoors,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

That fear is also being felt by the kids, says Marcela, no matter what parents do to try to shield them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my apartment complex, police cars are always driving around, and my children say those officers are there to arrest immigrants. Whenever they see a patrol car while we\u2019re driving, they tell me, \u2018Mom, I\u2019m wearing my seatbelt,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

A \u2018spirit of celebration\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Still, in the midst of an international sporting event that ostensibly celebrates diversity global sportsmanship, immigrants need to remember that they, too, belong, Viloria insisted.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe the celebration won\u2019t happen inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but we\u2019ll gather at home or in spaces designed for our community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Viloria added those spaces are intended to minimize long trips and dependence on cars, while creating places where Spanish is spoken and community members can organize and support one another.<\/p>\n

For Viloria, the challenge is finding a balance between caution and the opportunity to enjoy a historic moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope our community maintains that spirit of celebration around this event that means so much to us,\u201d he noted. \u201cWhat a privilege it is to witness a FIFA World Cup in our own backyard and be part of the festivities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johanes Rosello is a freelance journalist in Atlanta, where she has covered the city\u2019s burgeoning Latino community for outlets including Mundo Hispano, CNN and Telemundo, among others.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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