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LA mayor urges US to reassure visiting World Cup fans / Photo: © AFP
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LA mayor urges US to reassure visiting World Cup fans
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Wednesday urged the US government to provide reassurances to World Cup visitors, days after images of federal immigration agents killing a second person in Minneapolis sent shockwaves around the world.
The United States is co-hosting this summer's football showcase with Canada and Mexico. Most of the games are being staged in the United States, with concerns growing among overseas visitors that they could be caught up in President Donald Trump's often brutal immigration crackdown.
"We need to show a better face to the world, that we are going to welcome people, that they're not going to have immigration problems," Bass said.
Bass told reporters she was "sure" that sports fans visiting Los Angeles for the World Cup or the 2028 Summer Olympics would not be directly affected.
"But I do think that message has to come from the White House as well. They are the ones that need to send that message," she said.
This month, immigration agents shot dead two Minneapolis protesters at point-blank range.
The latest, intensive care unit nurse Alex Pretti, was shot multiple times after being forced to the ground by camouflage-clad officers.
Federal immigration agents have been deployed to several other major cities including Los Angeles, which will host eight World Cup games including the host nation's opener and a quarter final.
Trump has become closely associated with the upcoming World Cup, attending the tournament's draw, where he was awarded a "FIFA peace prize."
Ross McCall, FIFA's executive director for commercial operations, told AFP that football's governing body was in "constant dialogue" with the Trump administration.
"Everyone is incentivized to make this World Cup as safe and inclusive as it can be. So just know that that work is obviously going on," he said.
At Wednesday's event, officials announced a series of fan zones with live screenings and other festivities across the Los Angeles area during the World Cup.
These include the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, a giant 78,000 capacity stadium that has hosted two Olympic Games, and world-famous Venice Beach.
Earlier this week it was reported that a branch of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will be deployed for next month's Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
US ambassador to Italy Tilman J. Fertitta said Wednesday that those agents, from ICE's Homeland Security Investigations unit, will have an "advisory" role.
"I think it's very frightening," Bass said. "I think it sends a very scary message to the world."
L. Solowjow--BTZ
