Immigration attorney Tahmina Watson has revived Airport Lawyers, the volunteer legal organisation she co-founded during the 2017 travel bans, to respond to a fresh crisis at U.S. airports.
The group originally formed when lawyers showed up at airports across the country to assist travellers detained or turned away under the original travel ban executive orders.
Now, nearly a decade later, Airport Lawyers is back in response to immigration-related disruptions surrounding the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which kicked off on June 11, 2026.
The tournament, hosted across cities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, has drawn hundreds of thousands of international visitors, creating significant pressure on U.S. border and airport infrastructure.
Reports have emerged of players, referees, and affiliated World Cup staff being detained or denied entry at U.S. airports, raising urgent concerns within the global football community.
The incidents have alarmed international football governing bodies, host city officials, and legal advocates who say the situation demands an organised legal response on the ground.
Watson, who writes a regular immigration column for Above the Law, has been one of the most prominent legal voices responding publicly to the unfolding situation.
Her column, published on the Above the Law platform, has consistently argued that immigration lawyers have a critical role to play during periods of heightened enforcement and policy uncertainty.
In a May 2026 piece titled “Why Joy Might Be the Most Important Tool Lawyers Have Right Now,” Watson made the case for resilience and purpose-driven legal advocacy in challenging political climates.
The revival of Airport Lawyers signals a broader mobilisation among the U.S. immigration bar, with attorneys volunteering time to assist travellers caught up in enforcement actions at major international airports.
The 2026 World Cup was always expected to test U.S. immigration systems given the sheer volume of international arrivals from countries across the globe over the tournament’s duration.
Legal advocates say the detention of football officials and sporting personnel represents a particularly visible dimension of immigration enforcement policies that have affected far larger numbers of ordinary travellers.
Airport Lawyers operates by deploying volunteer attorneys to airports to provide on-the-spot legal advice and representation to individuals who are detained or face removal proceedings upon arrival.
The organisation’s return underscores how quickly legal volunteer networks can be reactivated when immigration enforcement creates sudden, large-scale demand for legal assistance at ports of entry.
Watson’s work both through Airport Lawyers and her public writing has positioned her as a central figure in U.S. immigration advocacy during one of the most consequential periods for the issue in recent memory.