A 'World Cup' for immigrant girls uses the joy of sport to counter ICE fears

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — “Push!” “Press!” “Good ball!”

As the volunteer soccer coach shouted words of motivation, one of his players nudged the ball past the opposing team's goalie and into the net, prompting the sideline to erupt in cheers.

This was the scene Sunday in Portland, Oregon, at a soccer tournament its organizer dubbed the World Cup for immigrant and refugee girls. Community advocate Som Subedi, an immigrant from Bhutan, created the event to help provide a sense of joy and unity amid federal immigration enforcement operations that have affected players' families.

“ICE and federal enforcement must be out of our parking lots, out of our soccer fields, and most importantly, out of the fear in our hearts and minds,” Subedi said during the opening ceremony, using the acronym for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Subedi belongs to the Lhotshampa, a Nepali-speaking ethnic group targeted by Bhutanese authorities in the early 1990s. He lived in a refugee camp in Nepal for years and arrived in Portland in 2008, eventually becoming a U.S. citizen.

“This is more than a competition. It is more than soccer,” he told The Associated Press. “We are making this a community event so that they feel valued and welcomed.”

Fears of federal immigration enforcement have gripped youth sports across the country.

Last fall, the Oregon Youth Soccer Association announced the cancellation or rescheduling of several games in Portland over concerns about immigration agents in parks, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. A New York City youth baseball coach intervened when ICE agents approached his team during practice, WABC-TV reported last July. And a Massachusetts high school student was arrested by immigration agents on his way to volleyball practice last May before being released.

Immigration enforcement, spearheaded by President Donald Trump's administration, surged in the Pacific Northwest last fall, nearing the historic height seen during the first Obama administration, according to data released by the University of Washington Center for Human Rights. In Oregon, the spike saw nearly 1,200 people arrested from October to December.

Portland's ICE building has been the site of persistent protests over the administration's immigration crackdown since last June, including months of nightly demonstrations. Federal officers' use of chemical munitions such as tear gas to disperse crowds at the building is the subject of two lawsuits, brought by nearby residents and protesters respectively, that are currently before a federal appeals court.

Some of the tournament's players — aged 10-18 and whose families hailed from countries from Mexico to Somalia to Myanmar — have been directly impacted by the immigration crackdown. Valeria Hernandez, 15, said her brother was deported to Mexico late last year.

“I broke down at that moment. I was really sad,” she told the AP, choking up. “He was my best friend.”

It became harder to get to practice, as her brother used to gives her rides. He was her main inspiration for playing soccer, she said, adding that she sent him a picture from the tournament before her first game.

“He was just very passionate about it,” she said, “so I wanted to be just like him.”

At the opening ceremony, Valeria, her mother and younger sister were gifted brightly colored scarves as symbols of support while they grapple with the deportation of their loved one, with whom “they deserve to be united,” Subedi said.

Subedi himself recounted how his daughter, 11, was afraid to go to soccer practice after immigration agents were reported near her school last winter. He showed her that he carries his REAL ID and passport on him, but she was still nervous, he told the AP.

“I had to calm her down, and she went into the practice, but also not without the fear,” he said.

To help create a sense of safety at the tournament, officers from two police departments and a local immigrant rights group were present. At times, officers were seen on the edge of the park chatting with attendees, or in their patrol vehicle in the parking lot. Under Oregon's sanctuary law, local police are prohibited from assisting with federal immigration enforcement.

The departments committed to showing up in a supportive role, Subedi said, “and their presence helped families feel protected, not policed.”

Having a crowd of supporters and families also contributed to the secure atmosphere, he said.

“When there’s a feeling of having a community’s back for these girls, I think that creates that sense of belonging, sense of safeness,” he said.

Esraa Alnabelsi, who arrived in the U.S. from Syria in 2012, said it was exciting not only to watch her 13-year-old daughter play, but also to see people of different cultures and religions come together.

“We really have to be in one hand to face all that's happening now in Oregon and other states,” she said.

There has also been solidarity among the players. A few girls who didn't come from immigrant families wanted to participate in the tournament, and they were accepted as the event was open to everyone, Subedi said.

Thanks to donations, the tournament — including jerseys and cleats — was free for the girls, who were split into six teams. Some teams represented certain communities and groups, such as the Karen people in Myanmar and the African Refugee Immigrant Organization. The teams that placed first and second received trophies.

Dozens of people signed up to volunteer, including as referees and coaches.

Sergio Medel was a volunteer coach for a team that included his 16-year-old daughter. He used to play professionally in Mexico and has coached at various levels in the U.S. since arriving in 1997.

“I hope that when they walk away from here, they feel like, ‘Hey, we’re not alone,’” he said.

As the world’s most played and popular sport, soccer has a way of bringing diverse communities together, with similar soccer tournaments for immigrants organized in the U.S. in recent years.

Subedi, who has loved playing soccer since he was a young child, described it as a game where “there is no language needed.”

“You just come together and play,” he said.

Valeria Hernandez, right, runs during a soccer tournament for immigrant and refugee girls on Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Amina Mohamed, right, sits with teammates during a soccer tournament for immigrant and refugee girls on Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Members of KYNAW FC team dance during an introduction ceremony before a soccer tournament for immigrant and refugee girls on Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Suraya Abdull plays in a soccer tournament for immigrant and refugee girls on Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Valeria Hernandez tears up during an interview with the Associated Press at a soccer tournament for immigrant and refugee girls on Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Aubrey Decraig, third from right, celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during a soccer tournament for immigrant and refugee girls on Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are sinking again Monday as oil prices keep climbing because of uncertainty about when the war with Iran could end.

The S&P 500 fell 0.7% and deepened its losses since the war began to pull 9.3% below its record set early this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 50 points, or 0.1%, as of 3:15 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.1% lower.

Caution was prevalent throughout financial markets. After jumping to an initial gain of 0.9%, the S&P 500 quickly erased nearly all of it before seesawing lower. Stock indexes rose in Europe but fell sharply in some Asian markets, while the price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 3.3% to settle at $102.88

The mixed movements followed a whirlwind of action in the war over the weekend, including an entry into the fighting by Houthi rebels in Yemen. The main issue for investors is whether oil and natural gas can resume their full flow from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide and prevent a brutal blast of inflation.

Shortly before the U.S. stock market opened for trading Monday, President Donald Trump said on his social media network that “great progress has been made” with “A NEW, AND MORE REASONABLE, REGIME to end our Military Operations in Iran.”

But he also threatened the possibility of “blowing up and completely obliterating” Iranian power plants if a deal is not reached shortly and if the Strait of Hormuz, an integral waterway for the flow of oil, is not opened immediately.

The statement fit and condensed last week’s pattern, where Trump would tout progress being made in talks and offer some optimism for the market, only for doubts to rise quickly afterward about whether the war can end soon.

All the back and forth has some investors saying they’re giving Trump’s pronouncements less weight than before. But stock prices are nevertheless cheaper than they were before the war, which has some investors waiting for an opportune time to buy.

The S&P 500 is roughly 9% below its all-time high, which was set in January. The Dow and Nasdaq both finished last week more than 10% below their records, a steep-enough fall that professional investors call it a “correction.”

Taking into account how much profits are expected to grow in the coming year for companies in the S&P 500, the index looks roughly 17% cheaper than before the war, by one measure. That’s in a similar range as where prior growth scares for the market ended, as long as they didn’t result in a recession or the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates, according to strategists at Morgan Stanley.

That’s one of the signs that the strategists led by Michael Wilson point to as “growing evidence the S&P 500 correction is getting closer to its ending stages.”

Of course, the Federal Reserve could upset that if it decides oil prices are threatening to stay high for long enough that it needs to raise interest rates. Higher interest rates would help keep a lid on inflation, but they would also slow the economy and push down on prices for all kinds of investments.

Treasury yields have been leaping in the bond market since the war began because of such worries, but they eased somewhat on Monday.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.34% from 4.44% late Friday. That’s a significant move for the bond market and offers some breathing room for Wall Street. But it remains far above its 3.97% level from before the war.

On Wall Street, Sysco fell 15.5% to help lead the market lower after it said it was buying Jetro Restaurant Depot for $21.6 billion in cash and enough Sysco shares to value the company at about $29.1 billion.

Alcoa rose 6.5% for one of the market’s biggest gains on speculation it could get more business after attacks damaged rival aluminum facilities in the Middle East over the weekend.

In stock markets abroad, the FTSE 100 in London climbed 1.6%, and the CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.9%. That followed drops of 3% for Seoul’s Kospi, 2.8% for Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 and 0.8% for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng.

AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott and AP journalist Ayaka McGill contributed to this report.

This story has been corrected to show that the S&P 500 finished last week 8.7% below its record.

Christopher Lagana, left, and Dilip Patel work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Bobby Charmak works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

People walk past the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, March 27, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

A general view shows the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, March 27, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Workers walk in an area at a degassing station in Zubair oil field, whose operations have being reduced due to the Mideast war triggered by the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, near Basra, Iraq, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A person walks by an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index in Tokyo Monday, March 30, 2026. (Yusuke Hashizume/Kyodo News via AP)

A dealer walks near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Dealers work near the screens showing the foreign exchange rates at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Dealers work near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), right, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)