By Rory Carroll
LOS ANGELES, Jan 28 (Reuters) – Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she would continue telling potential travellers they were welcome in the city for this year’s FIFA World Cup but added that those reassurances needed to be echoed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.
Bass’s comments came amid questions about whether concerns over U.S. immigration enforcement could lead to international fans avoiding the tournament, which will include eight matches in Los Angeles in June and July.
“I am sure (Trump) is not going to interfere with that but I do think that message has to come from the White House as well,” she told Reuters at an event on Wednesday showcasing the city’s community and fan engagement plans for the tournament.
“They are the ones that need to send that message. I will send the message that people are welcome to the city of Los Angeles.”
The Trump administration has strained international relations through its tariff-heavy trade policy, travel bans on certain countries and talk of acquiring Greenland. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump has been a strong supporter of the tournament, which the United States will co-host with Canada and Mexico. He received FIFA’s inaugural peace prize at the World Cup draw in Washington last month.
FIFA this month reported record ticket demand from around the world, but ex-FIFA president Sepp Blatter on Monday proposed a fan boycott.
“For the fans, I have only one piece of advice: stay away from the United States!” he wrote on X.
Bass’s remarks come after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel will help to protect U.S. delegations at next month’s Winter Olympics in Italy, causing a political uproar in the country.
“I think it’s very frightening. I think that it sends a very scary message to the world,” Bass said of the deployment.
ICE and Border Patrol agents have come under heavy criticism over their enforcement of Trump’s immigration crackdown after they shot and killed two U.S. citizens in separate incidents this month in Minnesota.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll and Jane Ross in Los Angeles; editing by Clare Fallon)
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