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DHS Reports Over 900 Arrests and 180 Trafficking Victims Rescued During 2026 FIFA World Cup
Date Posted: September 15th, 2026
The Department of Homeland Security announced the results of a nationwide crackdown on human trafficking coordinated around the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking, and federal, state, and local partners arrested 905 suspects and rescued 180 victims — 150 adults and 30 juveniles — across World Cup host cities.
In one case, HSI Dallas executed eight federal arrest warrants tied to an adult bookstore that had operated as a covert brothel for more than 20 years. The investigation, opened in 2023, found that thousands of adults and minors had been sold for commercial sex through the business, with dozens of victims identified. A defendant tied to a related 2024 killing has already been convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Those named in the new warrants face charges including sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion, along with money laundering; the case is being prosecuted by the Northern District of Texas.
In a separate operation, HSI San Francisco worked with the FBI and the San Francisco Police Department to identify and rescue two minor trafficking victims. One of the two had been reported missing out of Bakersfield, California, in November 2025 and had not been seen since.
DHS leadership described the effort as part of a broader push to dismantle trafficking networks operating in the shadow of large public events, with the World Cup crackdown running alongside the department’s wider security operations across host cities throughout the tournament.
The Department of Homeland Security announced the results of a nationwide crackdown on human trafficking coordinated around the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking, and federal, state, and local partners arrested 905 suspects and rescued 180 victims — 150 adults and 30 juveniles — across World Cup host cities.
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