Undocumented immigrants are easy to demonize. Punish businesses instead.
Detractors have said that the monthlong event, featuring top international soccer teams, puts too much of a burden on some of the world's top players. Others have noted that this year's games in the American host cities have been poorly attended.
Some have complained about lightning that has delayed the games.
Yet, I recently saw how one of those lightning delays provided a teachable moment about our country's hotly debated immigration policies. It was − for me, anyway − a lesson about putting compassion ahead of our overheated political passions.
International soccer provides a lesson in our immigration debate
Immigration has dominated our national debate for a long time. On July 1, President Donald Trump paid a visit to Alligator Alcatraz, a new immigrant detention facility in the Florida Everglades.
Immigration hawks seem to love the idea of undocumented immigrants being trapped in a swamp, with any potential escape routes blocked by alligators and pythons. The subtext isn't subtle: If detainees try to escape and get eaten by swamp critters, then they will get what's coming to them.
So, it's a bit strange in our current political climate to have thousands of international visitors flock to our country for the Club World Cup while people are protesting in the streets over immigrant detentions and deportations.
People are perched on barstools in our country, vigorously debating immigration policy, who have had little personal contact with immigrants.
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They may see people they presume are immigrants trimming the lawns outside their condominiums, busing tables at restaurants or handling other service-oriented jobs. But opportunities for one-on-one interactions are limited.
They may not have people with immigrant backgrounds in their circle of friends, or if they do, they consider those individuals to be outliers who aren't representative of their demographic groups.
Lightning delay offers an opportunity to bond
In June, I went to one of the Club World Cup games in Orlando with a friend. We were among the few in the sparse crowd to watch a match between Ulsan HD, a South Korean team, and Mamelodi Sundowns, a team from South Africa.
We deliberately picked a match without bigger name teams involved because we wanted to sample the Club World Cup experience without having to pay a fortune for scalped tickets. Mission accomplished: The announced attendance was 3,412, which seemed to be on the generous side.
Despite the sparse crowd, there was electricity in the air. By that, I mean the kickoff was delayed an hour due to lightning in the area.
During the delay, fans were asked to shelter in the concourses. To kill time, a group of Mamelodi supporters gathered to sing and dance as one of them played drums. Before long, a crowd had gathered around them.
Soon, not only the South Africans, but others in the crowd − including curious Americans and probably a few South Koreans − were clapping and swaying to the beat of the music.
It was the kind of moment that just happens when you put people of different cultures together in enclosed spaces. Given enough time, they will start to interact. In those interactions, people start to recognize their shared humanity.
The lightning delay ended, and everyone went back to their seats. The game began and fans rooted for their respective teams.
Later, though, I thought about how many thousands of foreign visitors have traveled to the United States to watch the Club World Cup. Only three of the 32 teams invited are from the United States.
Finding the human side in visitors from different cultures
Think how many opportunities there have been for Americans to interact with those visiting fans in shops, restaurants, hotels, airports, tourist attractions and the sports stadiums where the games were played.
On immigration policy, I consider my politics to be middle of the road. I believe immigrants need to "play by the rules" and not sneak into the country as undocumented migrants. I don't want terrorists or other criminals coming into our country illegally.
However, I also believe in due process for people who have been accused of illegal activity, including immigrants.
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I also question why our country doesn't commit more resources toward punishing businesses that employ undocumented immigrants, rather than focusing so much on the individual immigrants. They wouldn't have an incentive to come to the United States if our businesses played by the rules. (That's a rhetorical question. The answer has to do with political contributions.)
Yet, even Trump recently created a political stir when he suggested maybe it was time to ease up on immigrants who are gainfully employed at farms and service businesses.
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That could have been progress, however temporary, toward a breakthrough moment: Immigrants, as an abstraction, can be easy to demonize. They're real people, however, who need to be treated with dignity and compassion.
They certainly don't deserve to be torn limb from limb and consumed by reptiles.
If the Club World Cup helps Americans get closer to that understanding, then it was well worth it.
Blake Fontenay is the commentary editor for USA TODAY.
You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What FIFA Club World Cup can teach US about immigrants | Opinion
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