1 00:00:15,192 --> 00:00:22,391 [Rush Lindell] So, here's what's going on. The World Cup is a weekend and the U.S. government can't get its own story straight on immigration enforcement. 2 00:00:22,692 --> 00:00:23,792 [Rush Lindell] That's where we start today. 3 00:00:24,092 --> 00:00:26,692 [Reagan] The Mullin contradiction is something else. 4 00:00:27,092 --> 00:00:33,642 [Reagan] CBS News had him on record saying ICE would be at stadiums every day and enforcement was always on the table. 5 00:00:34,092 --> 00:00:41,042 [Reagan] Then LA County Sheriff Luna announcing in writing no civil immigration enforcement at any World Cup event. 6 00:00:41,427 --> 00:00:44,027 [Rush Lindell] The Secretary of Homeland Security, 7 00:00:44,577 --> 00:00:48,277 [Rush Lindell] contradicted by a county sheriff in Los Angeles, 8 00:00:48,878 --> 00:00:49,577 [Rush Lindell] let that sit. 9 00:00:49,927 --> 00:00:50,777 [Reagan] It does sit. 10 00:00:51,177 --> 00:00:55,527 [Rush Lindell] And nobody at DHS or the White House has explained how that happened. 11 00:00:55,927 --> 00:00:57,927 [Rush Lindell] That's the first thing we get into today. 12 00:00:58,477 --> 00:01:00,027 [Reagan] And that's not the whole story. 13 00:01:00,277 --> 00:01:01,927 [Reagan] The pressure that produced that truce, 14 00:01:02,227 --> 00:01:03,177 [Reagan] union organizers, 15 00:01:03,477 --> 00:01:06,128 [Reagan] a ninety six per cent strike authorization vote, 16 00:01:06,527 --> 00:01:08,427 [Reagan] Human Rights Watch going after nine- 17 00:01:08,275 --> 00:01:09,676 [Reagan] 19 FIFA sponsors? 18 00:01:10,225 --> 00:01:12,125 [Reagan] That's a story that didn't get a lot of airtime. 19 00:01:12,426 --> 00:01:15,875 [Rush Lindell] Six sponsors responded with vague human rights language. 20 00:01:16,125 --> 00:01:17,725 [Rush Lindell] None endorsed the demand. 21 00:01:17,975 --> 00:01:18,975 [Rush Lindell] Not one. 22 00:01:19,325 --> 00:01:20,325 [Reagan] Tiro for 19. 23 00:01:20,775 --> 00:01:23,126 [Rush Lindell] And then, oh, then there's Iran, 24 00:01:23,376 --> 00:01:26,825 [Rush Lindell] playing their World Cup opener at SoFi Stadium three days ago. 25 00:01:27,176 --> 00:01:28,575 [Rush Lindell] Drew 2-2 with New Zealand. 26 00:01:28,676 --> 00:01:29,376 [Rush Lindell] Great match. 27 00:01:29,575 --> 00:01:30,626 [Rush Lindell] Fans everywhere. 28 00:01:30,876 --> 00:01:32,725 [Rush Lindell] And the moment the final whistle blows, 29 00:01:32,975 --> 00:01:33,725 [Reagan] Ordered out. 30 00:01:34,176 --> 00:01:36,525 [Rush Lindell] ordered out of the country that night. 31 00:01:37,037 --> 00:01:38,337 [Rush Lindell] Al Jazeera confirmed it: 32 00:01:38,637 --> 00:01:42,637 [Rush Lindell] Iran will have to leave the U.S. within hours of every single match. 33 00:01:43,137 --> 00:01:49,938 [Rush Lindell] Captain Taremi said the trip in took five hours of travel and security checks for what's normally a short hop from Tijuana. 34 00:01:50,638 --> 00:01:53,287 [Reagan] Rear to Robbie's visa expired after game one, 35 00:01:53,537 --> 00:01:55,138 [Reagan] quietly fixed by the State Department. 36 00:01:55,737 --> 00:01:58,438 [Rush Lindell] Quietly." That word does a lot of work here. 37 00:01:58,787 --> 00:02:02,587 [Rush Lindell] We'll look at who blinked, whether anybody's legal authority actually changed, 38 00:02:02,737 --> 00:02:03,087 [Rush Lindell] and what 39 00:02:03,087 --> 00:02:03,438 [Speaker 3] the consequences are. 40 00:02:02,867 --> 00:02:04,567 [Rush Lindell] What the media missed asking. 41 00:02:04,717 --> 00:02:09,467 [Reagan] The policy arc goes back four months February to now worth walking through 42 00:02:09,768 --> 00:02:12,817 [Rush Lindell] It is. First segment, the Mullin contradiction. 43 00:02:13,168 --> 00:02:13,867 [Rush Lindell] The timeline, 44 00:02:14,117 --> 00:02:15,018 [Rush Lindell] the sheriff's announcement, 45 00:02:15,317 --> 00:02:17,717 [Rush Lindell] and what DHS still hasn't said publicly. 46 00:02:18,018 --> 00:02:18,817 [Rush Lindell] Stay with us. 47 00:02:24,051 --> 00:02:25,501 [Rush Lindell] Before we dive in, 48 00:02:25,602 --> 00:02:26,451 [Rush Lindell] a quick reminder: 49 00:02:26,701 --> 00:02:28,151 [Rush Lindell] we love hearing from you. 50 00:02:28,451 --> 00:02:30,901 [Rush Lindell] If you have questions or topics you'd like us to cover, 51 00:02:31,201 --> 00:02:36,352 [Rush Lindell] head to the link in the description and submit your question; we read every single one. 52 00:02:41,683 --> 00:02:42,883 [Rush Lindell] So here's what happened. 53 00:02:43,133 --> 00:02:51,783 [Rush Lindell] May twelfth, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin goes on CBS News and says quote ICE always does immigration enforcement. 54 00:02:52,133 --> 00:02:54,033 [Rush Lindell] We're always going to do that. 55 00:02:54,383 --> 00:02:57,683 [Rush Lindell] Agents at World Cup stadiums every single day. 56 00:02:58,084 --> 00:02:59,433 [Rush Lindell] That's the public statement, 57 00:02:59,734 --> 00:03:00,334 [Rush Lindell] on record. 58 00:03:00,783 --> 00:03:01,334 [Reagan] And then, 59 00:03:01,433 --> 00:03:02,134 [Reagan] early June, 60 00:03:02,283 --> 00:03:02,433 [Reagan] L. 61 00:03:02,484 --> 00:03:05,084 [Reagan] a LA County Sheriff Robert Luna holds a press conference. 62 00:03:05,683 --> 00:03:06,134 [Rush Lindell] Right, 63 00:03:06,283 --> 00:03:09,734 [Rush Lindell] and the sheriff says federal officials personally told him: 64 00:03:09,876 --> 00:03:17,926 [Rush Lindell] Personally that ICE will not conduct civil immigration enforcement at any World Cup game or event in Los Angeles, 65 00:03:17,926 --> 00:03:18,225 [Reagan] Wow. 66 00:03:18,225 --> 00:03:19,075 [Rush Lindell] Full stop. 67 00:03:19,475 --> 00:03:22,575 [Reagan] So the Secretary of Homeland Security said one thing, 68 00:03:22,776 --> 00:03:26,376 [Reagan] then the federal officials who talked to the LA Sheriff said something different. 69 00:03:26,725 --> 00:03:28,876 [Reagan] Those can't both be true at the same time. 70 00:03:29,225 --> 00:03:33,776 [Rush Lindell] They cannot and nobody in mainstream media wants to say the word reversal. 71 00:03:34,126 --> 00:03:35,826 [Rush Lindell] They're treating it like a nuanced... 72 00:03:35,604 --> 00:03:38,404 [Rush Lindell] Policy evolution it's not nuanced, 73 00:03:38,604 --> 00:03:39,354 [Rush Lindell] it's a U-turn. 74 00:03:39,854 --> 00:03:40,104 [Reagan] Look, 75 00:03:40,204 --> 00:03:40,754 [Reagan] to be fair, 76 00:03:40,904 --> 00:03:48,354 [Reagan] Mullin also told CBS that agents wouldn't be there to "round up mass individuals," so there was always some ambiguity baked in. 77 00:03:49,404 --> 00:03:49,804 [Rush Lindell] Ambiguity, 78 00:03:49,954 --> 00:03:50,654 [Rush Lindell] that's generous. 79 00:03:50,854 --> 00:03:57,654 [Rush Lindell] The man posted a video on the ICE agency's own X account saying agents would be out there every day. 80 00:03:57,854 --> 00:03:58,854 [Rush Lindell] That's not ambiguous, 81 00:03:59,304 --> 00:04:00,154 [Rush Lindell] that's a press release. 82 00:04:00,804 --> 00:04:01,004 [Reagan] Right, 83 00:04:01,153 --> 00:04:02,604 [Reagan] and that's the documented record, 84 00:04:02,903 --> 00:04:04,554 [Reagan] according to Al Jazeera's reporting from 85 00:04:04,307 --> 00:04:05,407 [Reagan] According from early June, 86 00:04:05,858 --> 00:04:11,257 [Reagan] Sheriff Luna said federal officials directly told him no civil immigration enforcement would happen. 87 00:04:11,657 --> 00:04:15,757 [Reagan] That's a specific named official contradicting a named cabinet secretary. 88 00:04:16,307 --> 00:04:18,908 [Speaker 4] That's the whole contradiction in one sentence, 89 00:04:19,007 --> 00:04:19,207 [Speaker 4] Reagan. 90 00:04:19,408 --> 00:04:20,507 [Speaker 4] And what I want to know, 91 00:04:20,608 --> 00:04:21,608 [Speaker 4] what nobody's asking, 92 00:04:21,858 --> 00:04:23,457 [Speaker 4] is who changed the policy. 93 00:04:23,807 --> 00:04:24,908 [Speaker 4] Because somebody did. 94 00:04:25,358 --> 00:04:27,158 [Speaker 4] Mullin didn't walk it back publicly. 95 00:04:27,408 --> 00:04:29,358 [Speaker 4] The White House didn't issue a statement. 96 00:04:29,708 --> 00:04:30,307 [Speaker 4] The Sheriff- 97 00:04:30,067 --> 00:04:32,418 [Speaker 4] Zaref just announced it like a fait accompli. 98 00:04:32,567 --> 00:04:34,418 [Reagan] Which raises the real question, 99 00:04:34,717 --> 00:04:38,117 [Reagan] did something happen between May and June to force that shift? 100 00:04:38,567 --> 00:04:39,567 [Speaker 4] Something did, 101 00:04:39,918 --> 00:04:43,767 [Speaker 4] and it involves roughly 2,000 stadium workers and a strike vote. 102 00:04:49,172 --> 00:04:50,672 [Rush Lindell] So here's what happened: 103 00:04:51,072 --> 00:04:52,822 [Rush Lindell] UNITE HERE Local 11, 104 00:04:53,072 --> 00:04:55,522 [Rush Lindell] roughly two thousand workers at SoFi Stadium, 105 00:04:55,522 --> 00:04:56,022 [Reagan] Wow. 106 00:04:56,022 --> 00:05:03,172 [Rush Lindell] filed a formal complaint to the National Labor Relations Board against FIFA and Kroenke Sports Entertainment; then they voted, 107 00:05:03,622 --> 00:05:05,072 [Rush Lindell] ninety six percent, 108 00:05:05,322 --> 00:05:06,672 [Rush Lindell] to authorize a strike. 109 00:05:06,922 --> 00:05:10,622 [Reagan] A ninety six per cent authorization vote-that's not a close call. 110 00:05:10,972 --> 00:05:14,072 [Rush Lindell] That's a mandate-and the threat worked. 111 00:05:14,372 --> 00:05:15,822 [Rush Lindell] According to Al Jazeera, 112 00:05:16,122 --> 00:05:18,122 [Rush Lindell] federal officials told Sheriff Luna. 113 00:05:17,875 --> 00:05:18,275 [Rush Lindell] Luna, 114 00:05:18,475 --> 00:05:23,775 [Rush Lindell] directly; no civil immigration enforcement at any LA World Cup event. 115 00:05:24,325 --> 00:05:25,075 [Rush Lindell] Days later, 116 00:05:25,275 --> 00:05:26,475 [Rush Lindell] the union cuts a deal. 117 00:05:26,875 --> 00:05:28,175 [Reagan] They got wage increases, 118 00:05:28,475 --> 00:05:32,125 [Reagan] job protections and one provision that's genuinely unusual: 119 00:05:32,675 --> 00:05:36,575 [Reagan] the right to walk off mid match if ICE shows up and they feel threatened. 120 00:05:37,025 --> 00:05:39,625 [Rush Lindell] That clause is now in the contract. 121 00:05:39,925 --> 00:05:44,275 [Rush Lindell] Legal experts are calling it unprecedented in modern American labor history. 122 00:05:44,180 --> 00:05:44,379 [Rush Lindell] three. 123 00:05:44,530 --> 00:05:45,930 [Rush Lindell] Think about that for a second. 124 00:05:46,230 --> 00:05:48,430 [Reagan] I will; and I'll also push back a little. 125 00:05:48,930 --> 00:05:49,180 [Reagan] Rush, 126 00:05:49,280 --> 00:05:52,329 [Reagan] does the sequence prove the Union caused the reversal? 127 00:05:52,829 --> 00:05:57,280 [Reagan] Or did DHS already want this outcome and the Union gave them political cover? 128 00:05:57,780 --> 00:05:58,030 [Rush Lindell] Oh, 129 00:05:58,129 --> 00:05:59,530 [Rush Lindell] that's the generous read. 130 00:05:59,879 --> 00:06:00,629 [Reagan] I'm serious: 131 00:06:01,079 --> 00:06:05,680 [Reagan] if DHS intended to use World Cup security as an immigration dragnet, 132 00:06:06,079 --> 00:06:06,480 [Reagan] yes, 133 00:06:06,579 --> 00:06:10,280 [Reagan] the strike threat changed the calculus. But if the plan was always 134 00:06:10,259 --> 00:06:12,959 [Reagan] ICE agents present no immigration enforcement, 135 00:06:13,159 --> 00:06:17,509 [Reagan] then the union extracted a public statement confirming what was already true. 136 00:06:17,959 --> 00:06:19,209 [Rush Lindell] But here's what gets me: 137 00:06:19,509 --> 00:06:23,759 [Rush Lindell] a union at one sports venue filed an NLRB complaint, 138 00:06:24,110 --> 00:06:28,959 [Rush Lindell] threatened to pull the cooks and the bartenders and the federal government blinked publicly. 139 00:06:29,459 --> 00:06:30,860 [Rush Lindell] You know what nobody wants to say? 140 00:06:31,209 --> 00:06:33,259 [Rush Lindell] That's the tail wagging the dog. 141 00:06:33,610 --> 00:06:36,810 [Reagan] Or it's labor doing exactly what labor's supposed to do. 142 00:06:36,660 --> 00:06:39,260 [Reagan] protecting its members through collective bargaining. 143 00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:43,710 [Speaker 4] Using federal immigration policy as the bargaining chip- 144 00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:46,260 [Reagan] That's a fair characterization of the mechanism. 145 00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:50,660 [Reagan] Whether it's alarming depends on whether you think the policy deserved a challenge. 146 00:06:51,260 --> 00:06:54,460 [Speaker 4] And that disagreement is exactly where this gets bigger, 147 00:06:54,860 --> 00:06:57,160 [Speaker 4] because Local 11 wasn't the only pressure. 148 00:06:57,510 --> 00:07:00,010 [Speaker 4] The sponsor campaign was operating at a complete 149 00:07:00,010 --> 00:07:00,560 [Speaker 3] disadvantage. 150 00:07:00,101 --> 00:07:01,301 [Rush Lindell] completely different scale. 151 00:07:06,639 --> 00:07:08,389 [Rush Lindell] Now flip that on its head: 152 00:07:08,839 --> 00:07:11,139 [Rush Lindell] while the Union was working the labor angle, 153 00:07:11,439 --> 00:07:14,989 [Rush Lindell] Human Rights Watch was running a completely separate operation: 154 00:07:15,539 --> 00:07:16,539 [Rush Lindell] corporate pressure. 155 00:07:17,039 --> 00:07:18,589 [Reagan] The sponsor play-yeah, 156 00:07:18,889 --> 00:07:20,939 [Reagan] that's a different kind of leverage entirely. 157 00:07:21,489 --> 00:07:25,339 [Rush Lindell] So here's what HRW and the Sport and Rights Alliance did. 158 00:07:25,889 --> 00:07:29,939 [Rush Lindell] They wrote to nineteen FIFA corporate sponsors-Coca-Cola, 159 00:07:30,239 --> 00:07:30,589 [Rush Lindell] Visa, 160 00:07:30,889 --> 00:07:32,589 [Rush Lindell] McDonald's, the whole roster. 161 00:07:32,505 --> 00:07:39,255 [Rush Lindell] and said publicly demand an ICE truce, no enforcement at any World Cup venue, 162 00:07:39,555 --> 00:07:40,205 [Rush Lindell] full stop. 163 00:07:40,605 --> 00:07:43,555 [Rush Lindell] According to Human Rights Watch's own published report, 164 00:07:43,955 --> 00:07:45,505 [Rush Lindell] six companies wrote back, 165 00:07:45,855 --> 00:07:46,405 [Rush Lindell] Adidas, 166 00:07:46,755 --> 00:07:47,455 [Rush Lindell] Coca-Cola, 167 00:07:47,755 --> 00:07:48,305 [Rush Lindell] Lenovo, 168 00:07:48,605 --> 00:07:50,155 [Rush Lindell] McDonald's, Unilever, 169 00:07:50,555 --> 00:07:50,805 [Rush Lindell] Visa. 170 00:07:51,155 --> 00:07:52,805 [Reagan] And what did those six say? 171 00:07:53,105 --> 00:07:56,205 [Rush Lindell] They said they regularly discuss human rights with FIFA. 172 00:07:56,405 --> 00:07:57,205 [Rush Lindell] That's it. 173 00:07:57,305 --> 00:07:59,105 [Rush Lindell] That's the entire answer. 174 00:07:59,225 --> 00:08:00,275 [Rush Lindell] No commitment, 175 00:08:00,625 --> 00:08:03,675 [Rush Lindell] no endorsement, just corporate throat clearing. 176 00:08:04,217 --> 00:08:06,517 [Reagan] Thirteen others didn't even respond: 177 00:08:06,917 --> 00:08:07,617 [Reagan] Bank of America, 178 00:08:07,917 --> 00:08:08,567 [Reagan] Aramco, 179 00:08:08,817 --> 00:08:10,417 [Reagan] Verizon—total silence. 180 00:08:11,117 --> 00:08:11,417 [Rush Lindell] Right. 181 00:08:11,667 --> 00:08:16,167 [Rush Lindell] So the campaign got six non-answers and thirteen ghostings. 182 00:08:16,367 --> 00:08:18,167 [Rush Lindell] But you know what nobody wants to say? 183 00:08:18,517 --> 00:08:28,717 [Rush Lindell] It still worked as a pressure mechanism because now Coca-Cola is on record engaging FIFA about immigration enforcement. That's a news story. 184 00:08:29,317 --> 00:08:31,317 [Reagan] I push back on the word worked, 185 00:08:31,717 --> 00:08:33,167 [Reagan] extracting a vague corporate 186 00:08:32,921 --> 00:08:35,121 [Reagan] Corporate statement isn't a policy outcome. 187 00:08:35,621 --> 00:08:39,221 [Reagan] The enforcement posture didn't change because Unilever sent a letter. 188 00:08:39,721 --> 00:08:44,021 [Rush Lindell] Fair; but you're grading on final score; I'm grading on field position. 189 00:08:44,421 --> 00:08:46,921 [Rush Lindell] You find an event with enough corporate exposure, 190 00:08:47,371 --> 00:08:48,521 [Rush Lindell] pile on the sponsors, 191 00:08:48,821 --> 00:08:51,971 [Rush Lindell] and now FIFA is getting lobbied from its own partners. 192 00:08:52,471 --> 00:08:53,421 [Rush Lindell] That's the template. 193 00:08:53,871 --> 00:08:56,821 [Rush Lindell] That's how you move policy without a single vote. 194 00:08:57,321 --> 00:09:00,521 [Reagan] And here's the irony that makes this whole picture strange. 195 00:09:00,669 --> 00:09:04,969 [Reagan] Human Rights Watch is pressuring FIFA sponsors to squeeze FIFA, 196 00:09:05,319 --> 00:09:11,269 [Reagan] while FIFA in December 2025 gave Trump the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize. 197 00:09:11,669 --> 00:09:14,869 [Reagan] Infantino handed it to him personally at the World Cup draw. 198 00:09:15,519 --> 00:09:17,169 [Rush Lindell] The FIFA Peace Prize, 199 00:09:17,419 --> 00:09:19,319 [Rush Lindell] for the man whose administration, 200 00:09:19,619 --> 00:09:20,319 [Rush Lindell] H.R.W. 201 00:09:20,369 --> 00:09:20,769 [Rush Lindell] says, 202 00:09:20,919 --> 00:09:23,369 [Rush Lindell] is running brutal immigration enforcement. 203 00:09:23,819 --> 00:09:26,469 [Rush Lindell] Those two things exist simultaneously. 204 00:09:27,225 --> 00:09:27,975 [Reagan] They do, 205 00:09:28,225 --> 00:09:31,475 [Reagan] which tells you FIFA is playing every side at once, 206 00:09:31,825 --> 00:09:36,175 [Reagan] and that's the backdrop for what happened when Iran actually showed up to play. 207 00:09:41,593 --> 00:09:42,943 [Rush Lindell] Now, the Iran story. 208 00:09:42,993 --> 00:09:45,143 [Rush Lindell] You want to talk about administrative theater? 209 00:09:45,393 --> 00:09:46,193 [Rush Lindell] This is it. 210 00:09:46,493 --> 00:09:47,943 [Reagan] Walk us through it. 211 00:09:48,243 --> 00:09:53,693 [Rush Lindell] June 15th, SoFi Stadium, Iran and New Zealand play a legitimately thrilling match. 212 00:09:54,093 --> 00:09:54,893 [Rush Lindell] 2-2 draw, 213 00:09:55,193 --> 00:09:56,643 [Rush Lindell] two deficits erased, 214 00:09:57,043 --> 00:09:57,893 [Rush Lindell] crackling crowd. 215 00:09:58,243 --> 00:09:59,893 [Rush Lindell] Final whistle blows and then immediately 216 00:09:59,893 --> 00:10:00,343 [Reagan] Wow. 217 00:10:00,343 --> 00:10:02,143 [Rush Lindell] U.S. officials tell the team, 218 00:10:02,393 --> 00:10:02,793 [Rush Lindell] bus, 219 00:10:03,193 --> 00:10:03,543 [Rush Lindell] now, 220 00:10:03,793 --> 00:10:04,843 [Rush Lindell] back to Tijuana. 221 00:10:05,193 --> 00:10:05,743 [Reagan] Seriously? 222 00:10:05,943 --> 00:10:06,893 [Reagan] No recovery night? 223 00:10:07,143 --> 00:10:07,643 [Rush Lindell] None. 224 00:10:07,693 --> 00:10:10,543 [Rush Lindell] Coach Amir Ghalenoei told the Associated Press. 225 00:10:10,297 --> 00:10:14,047 [Rush Lindell] The press-and I'm quoting here-after the game to day they said to us, 226 00:10:14,197 --> 00:10:21,647 [Rush Lindell] 'We have to leave immediately.' Captain Mehdi Torabi said the trip in took five hours of travel and security checks, 227 00:10:21,997 --> 00:10:25,997 [Rush Lindell] five hours for what is normally a short run from Tijuana to LA 228 00:10:26,447 --> 00:10:26,897 [Reagan] Okay, 229 00:10:27,097 --> 00:10:27,347 [Reagan] so, 230 00:10:27,597 --> 00:10:28,397 [Reagan] to be fair, 231 00:10:28,597 --> 00:10:35,447 [Reagan] Iran's base camp is in Tijuana because the U.S. declined to host the team overnight at all; that was a known condition going in. 232 00:10:35,847 --> 00:10:36,697 [Rush Lindell] Known to whom? 233 00:10:36,947 --> 00:10:39,097 [Rush Lindell] Ghalenoei told reporters on record 234 00:10:39,097 --> 00:10:39,697 [Speaker 3] - 235 00:10:39,033 --> 00:10:39,183 [Rush Lindell] record, 236 00:10:39,333 --> 00:10:41,583 [Rush Lindell] we don't know why they are returning us. 237 00:10:41,683 --> 00:10:45,933 [Rush Lindell] The coach of a World Cup team doesn't know the rules he's operating under. 238 00:10:46,333 --> 00:10:47,283 [Reagan] Andrew Giuliani, 239 00:10:47,533 --> 00:10:49,683 [Reagan] he's running the White House FIFA task force, 240 00:10:49,783 --> 00:10:53,033 [Reagan] told CBS that the team gets in the day before each match, 241 00:10:53,333 --> 00:10:54,733 [Reagan] leaves the evening of the match. 242 00:10:54,883 --> 00:10:56,833 [Reagan] He said, we were clear this was the process. 243 00:10:57,233 --> 00:10:59,133 [Rush Lindell] Somebody forgot to tell the coach! 244 00:10:59,533 --> 00:10:59,983 [Reagan] Right? 245 00:11:00,333 --> 00:11:01,733 [Reagan] And then there's the winger, 246 00:11:01,933 --> 00:11:02,733 [Reagan] Mehdi Torabi. 247 00:11:02,883 --> 00:11:05,833 [Reagan] His visa expired after game one, single entry. 248 00:11:05,817 --> 00:11:06,067 [Reagan] entry. 249 00:11:06,317 --> 00:11:09,667 [Reagan] Every one else had multiple entry; he'd have missed the rest of the tournament. 250 00:11:10,217 --> 00:11:15,267 [Rush Lindell] Until the State Department quietly fixed it as soon as we became aware," they said. 251 00:11:15,467 --> 00:11:15,717 [Rush Lindell] Which, 252 00:11:15,867 --> 00:11:22,117 [Rush Lindell] great; but how does a player at a tournament the U.S. is co hosting get a single entry visa by accident? 253 00:11:22,617 --> 00:11:28,317 [Reagan] That's the question-not malice probably; but this is what policy chaos actually looks like on the ground, 254 00:11:28,667 --> 00:11:30,217 [Reagan] not some dramatic standoff, 255 00:11:30,317 --> 00:11:33,317 [Reagan] just a winger almost missing Belgium because of a paperwork 256 00:11:33,209 --> 00:11:34,309 [Reagan] gap nobody caught. 257 00:11:34,559 --> 00:11:37,809 [Rush Lindell] And that gap is exactly where the next question lives: 258 00:11:38,059 --> 00:11:41,709 [Rush Lindell] who's setting the rules here and what does it mean that they keep changing? 259 00:11:47,129 --> 00:11:52,179 [Rush Lindell] So let's talk about what this policy trajectory actually looks like on paper. 260 00:11:52,729 --> 00:11:53,329 [Rush Lindell] February: 261 00:11:53,729 --> 00:11:58,229 [Rush Lindell] Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons testifies before the House Homeland Security Committee, 262 00:11:58,329 --> 00:12:02,329 [Rush Lindell] asked directly whether ICE would pause operations near matches, 263 00:12:02,929 --> 00:12:04,029 [Rush Lindell] he refused to commit, 264 00:12:04,479 --> 00:12:08,829 [Rush Lindell] said ICE was a key part of the overall security apparatus for the tournament, 265 00:12:09,429 --> 00:12:13,129 [Rush Lindell] which sounds very official until June rolls around and 266 00:12:13,017 --> 00:12:18,417 [Rush Lindell] And Sheriff Luna announces actually no civil immigration enforcement at any L.A. 267 00:12:18,517 --> 00:12:19,267 [Rush Lindell] World Cup event, 268 00:12:19,567 --> 00:12:20,017 [Rush Lindell] full stop. 269 00:12:20,505 --> 00:12:23,255 [Reagan] And that's the arc rush!" (February: 270 00:12:23,555 --> 00:12:35,055 [Reagan] Lyons no commitment to pause; Mullin hedging in May on CBS; Luna announcing the truce in June; that's four months and three position shifts from the same federal apparatus.) 271 00:12:35,055 --> 00:12:35,455 [Rush Lindell] Oh, 272 00:12:35,555 --> 00:12:36,705 [Rush Lindell] and Congress tried. 273 00:12:37,105 --> 00:12:45,805 [Rush Lindell] They introduced the Save the World Cup Act in March; would have banned federal funds for civil immigration enforcement within one mile of any match or fan festival. 274 00:12:46,355 --> 00:12:47,455 [Reagan] When—nowhere. 275 00:12:47,655 --> 00:12:49,455 [Reagan] GOP-controlled House killed it by 276 00:12:49,209 --> 00:12:50,209 [Reagan] Build it before kick off. 277 00:12:50,809 --> 00:12:52,209 [Rush Lindell] Died in committee, 278 00:12:52,459 --> 00:12:59,109 [Rush Lindell] and yet the policy outcome that bill was asking for arrived anyway without a vote, 279 00:12:59,309 --> 00:13:00,009 [Rush Lindell] without a signature, 280 00:13:00,359 --> 00:13:01,259 [Rush Lindell] without anything. 281 00:13:02,035 --> 00:13:03,885 [Reagan] That's the thing I want people to sit with. 282 00:13:04,035 --> 00:13:06,235 [Reagan] You had legislators-"Rep Nellie Pouh" 283 00:13:06,335 --> 00:13:10,535 [Reagan] introduced it March eighteenth-trying to encode this through the normal process. 284 00:13:10,935 --> 00:13:13,585 [Reagan] That process failed; but union pressure, 285 00:13:13,835 --> 00:13:18,035 [Reagan] sponsor anxiety and a county sheriff's press conference got the job done. 286 00:13:18,585 --> 00:13:21,185 [Rush Lindell] So what does that tell the next union, 287 00:13:21,535 --> 00:13:23,185 [Rush Lindell] or the next advocacy group, 288 00:13:23,285 --> 00:13:29,235 [Rush Lindell] or-and I mean this-the next foreign government that wants a carve out at a U.S.-hosted event? 289 00:13:29,017 --> 00:13:29,267 [Rush Lindell] Vent! 290 00:13:29,867 --> 00:13:30,617 [Reagan] It tells them, 291 00:13:30,717 --> 00:13:31,917 [Reagan] skip the legislation, 292 00:13:32,267 --> 00:13:34,217 [Reagan] apply pressure at the right choke points, 293 00:13:34,367 --> 00:13:36,867 [Reagan] and the policy moves without Congress touching it. 294 00:13:37,467 --> 00:13:38,717 [Rush Lindell] That's not a feature, 295 00:13:38,967 --> 00:13:43,967 [Rush Lindell] that is a significant problem regardless of where you land on the underlying immigration question. 296 00:13:44,567 --> 00:13:45,017 [Reagan] Agreed, 297 00:13:45,167 --> 00:13:51,867 [Reagan] you've essentially demonstrated that organized economic pressure outperforms the legislative process for shaping federal enforcement, 298 00:13:52,317 --> 00:13:53,317 [Reagan] at least at this scale. 299 00:13:53,867 --> 00:13:57,167 [Rush Lindell] And the press is treating this like a heartwarming story. 300 00:13:57,113 --> 00:13:57,713 [Rush Lindell] Great witch, 301 00:13:57,813 --> 00:13:58,213 [Rush Lindell] well, 302 00:13:58,813 --> 00:14:00,113 [Rush Lindell] that's a conversation for. 303 00:14:00,202 --> 00:14:01,252 [Rush Lindell] for right now. 304 00:14:06,622 --> 00:14:07,272 [Rush Lindell] Now, 305 00:14:07,372 --> 00:14:08,422 [Rush Lindell] the media angle. 306 00:14:08,772 --> 00:14:11,572 [Rush Lindell] NPR ran a piece on June ninth headlined, 307 00:14:11,872 --> 00:14:12,172 [Rush Lindell] quote, 308 00:14:12,422 --> 00:14:14,122 [Rush Lindell] "A Warm World Cup Welcome? 309 00:14:14,622 --> 00:14:19,472 [Rush Lindell] US Immigration Policies Have a Chilling Effect." Read that headline again: 310 00:14:19,872 --> 00:14:20,972 [Rush Lindell] A Warm Welcome? 311 00:14:21,372 --> 00:14:22,672 [Rush Lindell] A Chilling Effect? 312 00:14:23,172 --> 00:14:24,672 [Rush Lindell] That framing isn't reporting, 313 00:14:24,972 --> 00:14:25,622 [Rush Lindell] that's a verdict. 314 00:14:26,022 --> 00:14:28,172 [Reagan] And the verdict presupposes a baseline: 315 00:14:28,472 --> 00:14:30,122 [Reagan] a "warm welcome" is the default, 316 00:14:30,472 --> 00:14:31,772 [Reagan] enforcement is the deviation. 317 00:14:32,422 --> 00:14:33,272 [Rush Lindell] Exactly. 318 00:14:33,522 --> 00:14:35,372 [Rush Lindell] You know what nobody wants to say? 319 00:14:35,262 --> 00:14:49,712 [Rush Lindell] Yesterday NPR treated the ICE truce as a "restoration of normalcy," as if pausing federal immigration enforcement at a sporting event is just "what a decent country does." That's the editorial assumption baked into every paragraph. 320 00:14:50,162 --> 00:14:56,112 [Reagan] The framing choice matters here; calling it a chilling effect implies the enforcement itself is the problem, 321 00:14:56,362 --> 00:15:01,762 [Reagan] not the question of whether a public commitment to suspend enforcement is actually a policy reversal. 322 00:15:01,790 --> 00:15:01,890 [Reagan] 'So! 323 00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:10,190 [Rush Lindell] They never ask that question." The Al Jazeera piece reports that civil immigration enforcement will not occur at LA World Cup venues, 324 00:15:10,190 --> 00:15:10,440 [Reagan] Right. 325 00:15:10,690 --> 00:15:11,340 [Rush Lindell] full stop. 326 00:15:11,590 --> 00:15:12,940 [Rush Lindell] Sheriff Luna confirmed it. 327 00:15:13,290 --> 00:15:13,640 [Rush Lindell] Fine, 328 00:15:13,890 --> 00:15:14,640 [Rush Lindell] that's the news. 329 00:15:14,840 --> 00:15:16,590 [Rush Lindell] But where's the paragraph that says, 330 00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:17,190 [Rush Lindell] "Wait, 331 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:21,840 [Rush Lindell] six weeks ago the DHS Secretary said the opposite on camera"? 332 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:23,740 [Reagan] That's the sentence that doesn't appear. 333 00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:25,890 [Rush Lindell] The absence is the story. 334 00:15:26,190 --> 00:15:29,040 [Rush Lindell] The mainstream coverage says enforcement was a success. 335 00:15:28,894 --> 00:15:33,494 [Rush Lindell] Suspended!" What it doesn't say is who blinked and why; a union, 336 00:15:33,744 --> 00:15:37,794 [Rush Lindell] a sponsor coalition and enough public noise got a written commitment 337 00:15:37,794 --> 00:15:37,844 [Reagan] Wow. 338 00:15:37,844 --> 00:15:40,344 [Rush Lindell] that directly contradicts what Mullin said. 339 00:15:40,694 --> 00:15:42,094 [Rush Lindell] That's not a warm welcome, 340 00:15:42,344 --> 00:15:43,794 [Rush Lindell] that's a negotiated retreat. 341 00:15:44,194 --> 00:15:51,594 [Reagan] And covering it as a humanitarian baseline rather than a policy reversal lets every actor involved off the hook-DHS, 342 00:15:52,044 --> 00:15:52,444 [Reagan] FIFA, 343 00:15:52,594 --> 00:15:53,144 [Reagan] the sponsors, 344 00:15:53,294 --> 00:15:54,244 [Reagan] who gave non answers. 345 00:15:54,744 --> 00:15:56,744 [Rush Lindell] Nobody's on the hook in that framing. 346 00:15:56,862 --> 00:15:58,612 [Rush Lindell] The story just happened. 347 00:15:59,062 --> 00:16:00,112 [Rush Lindell] Enforcement chilled, 348 00:16:00,412 --> 00:16:01,312 [Rush Lindell] welcome warmed, 349 00:16:01,612 --> 00:16:02,812 [Rush Lindell] nobody asked how. 350 00:16:03,112 --> 00:16:04,512 [Reagan] Which means the harder question, 351 00:16:04,812 --> 00:16:09,012 [Reagan] did the administration actually change course or just change its public statement, 352 00:16:09,462 --> 00:16:10,712 [Reagan] never gets put to anyone. 353 00:16:11,112 --> 00:16:14,562 [Rush Lindell] And that question is exactly what we're about to get into. 354 00:16:19,998 --> 00:16:20,548 [Rush Lindell] So, 355 00:16:20,798 --> 00:16:21,498 [Rush Lindell] did they blink? 356 00:16:21,848 --> 00:16:23,648 [Reagan] The public record says yes. 357 00:16:24,248 --> 00:16:28,298 [Reagan] Mullin went on CBS and said ICE always does immigration enforcement. 358 00:16:28,448 --> 00:16:29,898 [Reagan] We're always going to do that. 359 00:16:30,248 --> 00:16:31,548 [Reagan] Left the door wide open. 360 00:16:32,098 --> 00:16:37,198 [Reagan] Then Sheriff Luna announced no civil immigration enforcement at any World Cup event. 361 00:16:37,698 --> 00:16:38,748 [Reagan] According to Al Jazeera, 362 00:16:38,848 --> 00:16:41,698 [Reagan] that commitment came directly from federal officials. 363 00:16:42,248 --> 00:16:43,148 [Rush Lindell] That's a blank. 364 00:16:43,448 --> 00:16:44,998 [Reagan] Politically? Absolutely. 365 00:16:45,198 --> 00:16:45,798 [Reagan] But rush, 366 00:16:45,848 --> 00:16:47,348 [Reagan] the statute didn't change. 367 00:16:47,508 --> 00:16:51,158 [Reagan] DHS's legal authority is exactly where it was in February. 368 00:16:51,508 --> 00:16:53,358 [Reagan] What changed was the public statement. 369 00:16:53,808 --> 00:16:57,808 [Rush Lindell] A written commitment that contradicts what your secretary said on camera, 370 00:16:58,108 --> 00:16:59,508 [Rush Lindell] that is the policy. 371 00:16:59,858 --> 00:17:01,458 [Rush Lindell] You know what nobody wants to say? 372 00:17:01,858 --> 00:17:08,608 [Rush Lindell] A union and a pressure campaign and 30 days of media noise moved federal enforcement policy. 373 00:17:08,808 --> 00:17:09,958 [Rush Lindell] That's the story. 374 00:17:10,358 --> 00:17:12,808 [Reagan] And I'm not disputing the reversal happened. 375 00:17:13,058 --> 00:17:16,258 [Reagan] I'm drawing a line between a political retreat and a legal. 376 00:17:16,062 --> 00:17:16,562 [Reagan] Legal one: 377 00:17:17,062 --> 00:17:20,012 [Reagan] If DHS decides next week the truce is inconvenient, 378 00:17:20,462 --> 00:17:24,262 [Reagan] Sheriff Luna's announcement doesn't stop them; the authority remains intact. 379 00:17:25,062 --> 00:17:27,062 [Rush Lindell] Which is the scarier version of the story? 380 00:17:27,362 --> 00:17:28,762 [Rush Lindell] They caved under pressure, 381 00:17:29,012 --> 00:17:31,162 [Rush Lindell] but they kept the loaded gun in the drawer. 382 00:17:31,662 --> 00:17:33,812 [Reagan] That's actually the most accurate read. 383 00:17:34,212 --> 00:17:37,562 [Reagan] The administration preserved legal flexibility while absorbing 384 00:17:37,562 --> 00:17:37,612 [Rush Lindell] Right. 385 00:17:37,612 --> 00:17:41,962 [Reagan] a political loss. Whether that matters depends entirely on what they do from here. 386 00:17:42,412 --> 00:17:46,062 [Rush Lindell] And that's the question no one in mainstream coverage thought to ask, 387 00:17:46,412 --> 00:17:48,312 [Rush Lindell] not whether the truce was good news, 388 00:17:48,612 --> 00:17:49,512 [Rush Lindell] but whether it holds. 389 00:17:50,062 --> 00:17:52,912 [Reagan] The statute doesn't expire when the tournament ends. 390 00:17:52,958 --> 00:17:54,308 [Reagan] That's the part worth watching. 391 00:17:54,808 --> 00:17:56,308 [Rush Lindell] So my verdict stands, 392 00:17:56,508 --> 00:17:58,058 [Rush Lindell] they blinked; yours is, 393 00:17:58,258 --> 00:17:59,958 [Rush Lindell] they blinked but kept their eyes open. 394 00:18:00,458 --> 00:18:01,558 [Reagan] That's a fair summary. 395 00:18:02,458 --> 00:18:03,058 [Rush Lindell] A union, 396 00:18:03,308 --> 00:18:04,508 [Rush Lindell] a pressure campaign, 397 00:18:04,758 --> 00:18:09,058 [Rush Lindell] and thirty days of media noise moved federal enforcement policy. 398 00:18:09,558 --> 00:18:12,158 [Rush Lindell] Whether you call that a blink or a tactical retreat, 399 00:18:12,658 --> 00:18:14,958 [Rush Lindell] somebody moved and it wasn't the union. 400 00:18:20,414 --> 00:18:22,564 [Rush Lindell] As a wrap on today's Rush Lindell Show, 401 00:18:22,864 --> 00:18:23,364 [Rush Lindell] and look, 402 00:18:23,514 --> 00:18:24,914 [Rush Lindell] the headline here is simple. 403 00:18:25,464 --> 00:18:27,314 [Rush Lindell] DHS said one thing publicly, 404 00:18:27,764 --> 00:18:31,414 [Rush Lindell] then handed a written commitment to a county sheriff saying the opposite. 405 00:18:31,764 --> 00:18:32,964 [Rush Lindell] That's not a policy. 406 00:18:33,264 --> 00:18:34,414 [Rush Lindell] That's a contradiction. 407 00:18:34,914 --> 00:18:36,114 [Reagan] And the open question, 408 00:18:36,364 --> 00:18:37,914 [Reagan] the one I keep coming back to, 409 00:18:38,114 --> 00:18:40,914 [Reagan] is whether that written commitment holds past the tournament. 410 00:18:41,064 --> 00:18:43,314 [Reagan] The legal authority was never surrendered. 411 00:18:43,614 --> 00:18:45,264 [Reagan] Only the political position was. 412 00:18:45,664 --> 00:18:47,414 [Rush Lindell] Which means we'll be watching. 413 00:18:47,992 --> 00:18:48,492 [Rush Lindell] Closely. 414 00:18:48,642 --> 00:18:49,242 [Rush Lindell] Reagan, 415 00:18:49,292 --> 00:18:49,992 [Rush Lindell] great work today. 416 00:18:50,292 --> 00:18:51,692 [Reagan] This one had real layers, 417 00:18:51,692 --> 00:18:51,942 [Rush Lindell] Mm-hmm. 418 00:18:51,942 --> 00:18:52,942 [Reagan] worth every minute. 419 00:18:53,242 --> 00:18:55,092 [Rush Lindell] If today's show got your wheels turning, 420 00:18:55,492 --> 00:18:55,892 [Rush Lindell] subscribe, 421 00:18:56,342 --> 00:18:57,742 [Rush Lindell] drop us a five-star review, 422 00:18:57,942 --> 00:19:00,092 [Rush Lindell] and send this to someone who needs to hear it. 423 00:19:00,442 --> 00:19:02,092 [Rush Lindell] New episodes every weekday. 424 00:19:02,292 --> 00:19:03,342 [Rush Lindell] We're not going anywhere. 425 00:19:03,642 --> 00:19:04,392 [Reagan] See you tomorrow. 426 00:19:04,742 --> 00:19:05,892 [Rush Lindell] I'm Rush Lindell. 427 00:19:05,942 --> 00:19:06,692 [Rush Lindell] Stay sharp.