World Cup crowds in Newark face lingering fear of ICE raids

Newark’s Ironbound was counting on World Cup crowds to lift Brazilian bars and restaurants, yet the same corridor that was preparing for celebration was still shadowed by fear of immigration raids. At Boi Na Brasa on Ferry Street, manager Kalani Mubarak said business had stayed slow after high-profile ICE raids last year scared off customers, left the restaurant with red sales, and forced layoffs and reduced shifts.

Mubarak said he had watched immigration agents arrest one regular as the man came in to eat, and he had not seen him since. Boi Na Brasa hosted a ticketed watch party for Brazil’s opening match against Morocco, with live music and an outdoor bar, and the restaurant expected more than 1,000 fans. Other businesses up and down Ferry Street, including Cozy Sports Bar and Grill and Sol-Mar, were also expanding capacity and security in hopes that the tournament would bring spending back to Newark’s heavily Latino corridor.

The Ironbound Business Improvement District has been pitching the neighborhood as Newark’s place to be for FIFA World Cup 2026, pointing to more than 200 local businesses and a location about 15 minutes from MetLife Stadium. That sales pitch collided with a crowded calendar: the city’s Portugal Day festivities ran June 12-14, a three-day stretch that overlapped with World Cup opening matches and drew large crowds to the same streets. Organizers say Portugal Day has been held in Newark since 1979 and attracts hundreds of thousands of attendees each year.

But the economic promise remained fragile because the fear never fully left. In January 2025, Newark officials said ICE agents detained multiple people at a local establishment without producing a warrant, a case that fed neighborhood anxiety. Later, a separate ICE raid at Ocean Seafood Depot on Adams Street resulted in 15 people taken into custody, deepening caution among residents and business owners who still monitor social-media alerts about enforcement activity.

Michel De Souza, a Brazilian fan living in the United States on a temporary visa, said the World Cup was showing that the fear was still there. In Newark, the tournament became more than a sporting event: it was a test of whether an immigrant neighborhood could reclaim its streets, restore its revenues and feel safe enough to gather in public again.