DHS Highlights Successful Arrests and Rescues in Crackdown on Human Trafficking During FIFA World Cup

In total, DHS arrested more than 900 suspects and rescued more than 180 victims

WASHINGTON - The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) celebrates the resounding success of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in cracking down on human trafficking operations during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

In total, HSI and the DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking (CCHT), along with federal, state, and local partners, arrested 905 suspects and rescued 180 victims - 150 adults and 30 juveniles.

In one operation on July 24, HSI Dallas executed 8 federal arrest warrants related to an adult bookstore in Dallas that had operated as an illicit and covert brothel for more than 20 years. The investigation, which was started by HSI Dallas in 2023, determined that thousands of adults and minors were sold for commercial sex through the illicit business, with dozens of victims being identified. One victim was murdered in 2024, for which a defendant was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. The targets of the arrest warrants were indicted on multiple counts, including conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, sex trafficking through force, fraud, and coercion, and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. The investigation is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Northern District of Texas.

In another operation on June 23, HSI San Francisco, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the San Francisco Police Department, conducted an operation that identified two female minor victims of human trafficking and rescued them. One of the two victims was reported missing out of Bakersfield, California in November of 2025 and had not been seen since.

"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," said Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. "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."

The human trafficking arrests are just one aspect of the many accomplishments by DHS and its components during the World Cup. Other achievements include:

• Combined, DHS and FBI seized more than 700 unauthorized drones.
• CBP's Air and Marine Operations flew 50+ air missions over stadiums and host cities.
• CBP completed more than 19,000 inspections of vehicles headed into stadiums and fan festivals.
• CBP seized more than 473,000 counterfeit FIFA World Cup merchandise items, with an estimated genuine retail value totaling more than $33 million.
• HSI intellectual property rights (IPR) enforcement efforts resulted in 48 arrests and 164 seizures related to FIFA World Cup counterfeit goods, which included over 530,000 items worth over $85 million MSRP.

# # #