The US Senator James Lankford, a Republican from Oklahoma, speaks on February 6, 2024 with reporters (photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
Washington – members of a body of the Senate Homeland and Governmental Affairs Committee on Tuesday witnesses examined how the federal government can guarantee public security at immense international sporting events such as the Olympic Games and World Cup.
The hearing came at the same time as protests in Los Angeles about the government’s immigration distance and shortly after President Donald Trump announced his Travel ban.
While athletes, trainers and other employees are exempt from the travel ban, it is unclear how fans who want to support their home countries will do.
Citizens from 12 countries are exposed to travel bans – Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Iran is the only country from this list that has qualified for the World Cup this year.
Citizens from seven countries have some restrictions – Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
The senators such as the head of the panel, James Lankford, were concerned about Visa warting times for international visitors who wanted to take part in the World Cup, which begins on Thursday in Miami, Florida.
“Although I am confident that there was a lot of preparation, I am concerned that we have a late start,” said Oklahoma’s Republican.
Senators of the subcommittee for border management, federal and regulatory matters have also expressed concerns about drones, and said local and federal partnerships can assist to organize sporting events in order to avoid terrorism threats, such as the attack of the New Year’s day on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana.
One of the witnesses, Gina Ligon, heads the academic excellence center of the Ministry of Homeland Security for Terrorism Control at the University of Nebraska. She said the attacker in New Orleans used artificial intelligence through Meta -Smart glasses to grasp the place before the attack, in which 14 people and dozens were injured.
“The threats we observed in the attack in New Orleans remain a very real problem, which requires considerable planning and resources given the spread of crowds before, during and after these events,” she said.
Pennsylvania’s senator, John Fetterman, the top democrat in the panel, said that the organization of international sporting events was “an incredible opportunity to show visitors the best of America”.
Los Angeles and the Olympic Games
Two GOP senators, Ashley Moody from Florida and Bernie Moreno from Ohio, asked how LA would be able to cope with the Olympic Games in 2028 Several home deposits in Los Angeles Looking for people in the country without legal approval.
In response to Trump used 4,000 troops from the National Guard – without the authority of California Governor Gavin Newsom – and 700 Marines to LA.
One of the witnesses, CEO of the Olympic and Paralympic Games La28, Reynold Hoover, said that local and state officials in California were able to cope with the Olympic Games and to work with the federal government for security measures.
“There is no place in the world like LA to organize the world’s largest Olympic Games,” said Hoover. “I am confident, on July 14, 2028, when we carry out the opening ceremony in the Colosseum and in the Stadium in Inglewood, the world will observe and see America at its best.”
Hoover said that the organization of the Olympic Games with more than 11,000 Olympic athletes and more than 4,400 Paralympic athletes with seven superbowls in a row.
Drone and Olympic Games
Democratic sens. Maggie Hassan from New Hampshire and Fetterman expressed concerns that drones come too close to the sporting events.
Hassan said, while the federal government had taken steps to tackle private drones, she asked Hoover, how he prepared to tackle all drone questions for the 2028 Olympic Games.
Hoover said that “Tools to include drone technology (unmanned aircraft systems) remain the most important priorities for our continuous cooperation with our federal, state and local partners”. He added that the coordination with the secret service was helpful in dealing with unmanned drones.
Ligon said she used drones near global sporting events.
“Malignic actors can now buy, build or adapt at lower costs at lower costs, with extended areas, higher speeds and larger payload capacities,” she said.
