Federal authorities arrested 905 suspected human traffickers and rescued 180 victims, including 30 children, during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday.
The enforcement push was led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, with support from the DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking and federal, state and local law enforcement partners, according to the department.
“While Americans and international visitors were enjoying the FIFA World Cup, the men and women of ICE law enforcement were hard at work cracking down on human trafficking operations in FIFA host cities across the country,” DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement.
“Federal law enforcement arrested more than 900 suspects and rescued nearly 200 victims. Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, we are dismantling human trafficking networks.”
Fans gather before the FIFA World Cup 2026 final between Spain and Argentina at New Jersey Stadium, also known as MetLife Stadium, in East Rutherford, N.J., on July 19, 2026. (Anadolu via Getty Images)
Among the largest cases announced was a Dallas operation Friday in which HSI agents arrested eight people accused of using an adult bookstore as a front for a brothel that investigators said had been operating in secret for more than two decades.
DHS said the investigation, launched in 2023, found that thousands of adults and children were allegedly sold for sex through the business. Authorities identified dozens of victims, including one who was murdered in 2024. A defendant in that case was later convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent stands in front of a large American flag. (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images, File)
The eight suspects face charges that include conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion and money laundering conspiracy. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.
In another case, HSI agents in San Francisco, working with the FBI and local police, rescued two girls believed to be victims of human trafficking. One of them had been missing from Bakersfield, California, since November 2025, according to DHS.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at work. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images, File)
The trafficking cases were part of a broader security effort during the World Cup.
DHS also said its agencies seized more than 700 unauthorized drones, inspected more than 19,000 vehicles headed to stadiums and fan festivals and confiscated hundreds of thousands of counterfeit World Cup merchandise items worth more than $33 million.
