Toronto Sparks Cross-Border Clash Over ICE Ahead of World Cup

Clear Facts

• Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow backed a council motion opposing any U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
• U.S. officials said Homeland Security Investigations personnel in Canada have never planned immigration enforcement and focus on transnational crime.
• Deputy Mayor Paul Ainslie said he is completely opposed to ICE being on Canadian soil.

Toronto elected leaders are demanding that ICE stay away from their city, even though the agency has never conducted or planned immigration enforcement on Canadian soil. Mayor Olivia Chow pushed a motion directing officials to refuse assistance to the agency ahead of FIFA World Cup games.

The vote came after a U.S. consulate in Toronto said the agency had no plans to enforce immigration law in Canada. Liberal officials continue to frame the presence of U.S. personnel as a threat to the city’s welcoming environment.

“ICE has no place in this city,” Chow said in a social media video.

“Toronto is about to welcome thousands and thousands of families because of FIFA World Cup, where everyone belongs. Everyone is welcome.”

“So stay out, ICE,” the mayor continued.

“We do not need you here.”

The city council approved the anti-ICE motion almost unanimously, with only one member opposing the directive that asks federal officials to reject the deployment of agents. While ICE maintains offices in several Canadian cities, those offices belong to Homeland Security Investigations and focus on combating transnational crime.

HSI works with Canadian law enforcement to seize illegal firearms and dismantle international drug trafficking operations rather than enforcing immigration statutes. U.S. Consul General Baxter Hunt reminded the council that the partnership has successfully identified hundreds of child victims of sexual exploitation.

“We are completely opposed to them even being on Canadian soil,” Deputy Mayor Paul Ainslie told reporters.

The stance persists despite documentation showing the offices are not authorized to carry out independent investigations or immigration enforcement in Canada.

Source: Daily Caller News Foundation

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