Will ICE agents stay away from the 2026 World Cup?
Americast
Sunday, 3 May 2026 - 27 minutes
Controversy continues to surround the build-up to the 2026 World Cup after reports emerged that Trump officials had asked FIFA to replace Iran with Italy at the tournament, and that some fans would have to pay more than $100 for a 30-minute journey to games in New Jersey.The pushback from New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill is in response to what she described as a $48 million safety bill for fans and that she will not “stick New Jersey commuters with that tab for years to come.”Meanwhile in Texas a row broke out between Houston city officials and Texas Governor Greg Abbott after he threatened to withdraw World Cup safety grants if the city did not promise to cooperate with ICE officials. In this episode, Justin, Anthony and Marianna discuss the risks to Donald Trump if the event fails to run smoothly, and the real reasons why some Democrats are pushing back against plans for the tournament. HOSTS:
• Justin Webb, Radio 4 Presenter
• Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent
• Marianna Spring, Social Media Investigations CorrespondentGUEST:
• Dan Miller, Reporter at POLITICOGET IN TOUCH:
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• Or use #AmericastThis episode was made by George Dabby with Alix Pickles and Grace Reeve. The technical producer was Stephen Bailey. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.If you want to be notified every time we publish a new episode, please subscribe to us on BBC Sounds by hitting the subscribe button on the app.You can now listen to Americast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Americast”. It works on most smart speakers.US Election Unspun: Sign up for Anthony’s BBC newsletter: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68093155Americast is part of the BBC News Podcasts family of podcasts. The team that makes Americast also makes lots of other podcasts, including Newscast. If you enjoy Americast (and if you're reading this then you hopefully do), then we think that you will enjoy some of our other pods too. See links below.Newscast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/p05299nl
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