By Rory Carroll
LOS ANGELES, June 1 (Reuters) – Federal officials have told Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna that civil immigration enforcement will not take place at FIFA World Cup games or events in Los Angeles, Luna said on Monday, as authorities outlined security plans for eight matches beginning on June 12.
“A couple of weeks ago there was some reporting, or rumors, about ICE potentially being at the FIFA games or events,” Luna told a press conference of local, state and federal law enforcement officials.
“I personally called the head of Homeland Security here for the L.A. region and what he stated is that there will be federal agents … because it’s going to take all of us to make sure that all the venues, the scoped and unscoped events, are secure.
“But in regard to civil immigration enforcement, they told us that specifically would not be occurring at any of the games.
“Any of that is subject to change, but I have trust that they’re giving me the appropriate information because if that starts occurring, we’re going to have a whole new host of problems,” he added.
Immigration raids by masked ICE agents in Los Angeles last year sparked a wave of demonstrations in the region.
HEIGHTENED SECURITY FOR IRAN’S MATCHES
Luna said law enforcement would increase staffing around Iran’s two matches in Los Angeles, with authorities monitoring possible protests or other activity near the stadium and fan zones.
Iran and the United States are in negotiations to end their three-month-old war.
Iran is scheduled to play its first match of the tournament on June 15 at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles, a region home to the largest concentration of Iranians outside Iran.
“Iran does bring a different dynamic because of the current world events,” Luna said.
“So there will be additional staffing for some of those games.”
ZERO TOLERANCE FOR UNAUTHORIZED DRONE USAGE
Officials also warned that drones would be subject to strict enforcement around World Cup venues, with temporary flight restrictions expected around facilities.
“If a drone’s violating a temporary flight restriction, the capability exists to bring that drone down into a safe location away from the crowds,” said Patrick Grandy, FBI assistant director in charge.
“We are going to be constantly monitoring the areas around the facilities, looking for violators of those temporary flight restrictions,” Grandy said, warning of “a zero tolerance policy” for those who willingly violate the restrictions.
Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman said the security effort would bring an unusually large law enforcement presence to the region.
“Between the dates of June 11th, all the way through July 19th, if you are a criminal, this is a terrible time to commit a crime,” Hochman said.
“The district attorney’s office will prosecute you, and you will be punished.”
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
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