In soccer, maintaining possession of the ball is crucial.
But as planning for 2026 World Cup matches in Massachusetts ramps up, state and local officials, who are hoping the games will lead to economic activity from tourists, may not be able to control the state of play when it comes to how federal border officers are treating visitors coming in from other countries.
Multiple news reports in recent months have highlighted how some tourists have been stopped at the border, held inside immigration detention facilities but eventually allowed to head home. The headlines have travelers “freaked out,” as The Atlantic noted, and “online message boards have been humming with vacation worries” as well as advice.
““There’s only so much our local authorities can do,” said Juliette Kayyem, a national security analyst who has worked for homeland security departments at both the federal and state level, under President Obama and Gov. Deval Patrick. “It’s the mood, it’s not the policy.”
Tourism officials involved in the planning effort for local World Cup games expect a $1.1 billion economic boost to Massachusetts over three weeks next June and early July. Seven games, out of a total of 60 across the country, are set to take place inside Foxborough’s Gillette Stadium, which will be renamed Boston Stadium for the duration due to sponsorship rules under FIFA, the governing body that works to organize the World Cup.
Two million visitors are expected to stream into Massachusetts, and organizers estimate 450,000 tickets will be sold.
But local tourism officials are “not going to be able to overcome what’s happening day to day at our border,” Kayyem said. “German tourists being detained for six hours, people going missing. That stuff they can’t control.” | 
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