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‘It’s been a hard year for us’: Brian Gutiérrez, Obed Vargas on ICE raids

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‘It’s been a hard year for us’: Brian Gutiérrez, Obed Vargas on ICE raids


This is a dream come true for Obed Vargas. A dream to which millions of kids across the United States aspire.

The 20-year-old Mexican midfielder by way of Anchorage, Alaska is on the cusp of his first World Cup. The fact that this edition of the tournament is set to be played in both of his home countries would make it all the more special for him.

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“I have a connection and ties to both countries,” Vargas said during the MexTour 2026 sendoff media day at the Rose Bowl on Thursday. “And I hope that I can continue to inspire those Mexican Americans to continue doing great things.”

For Brian Gutiérrez, the call-up would be nothing short of an honor.

“I want to be there,” he said.

Gutiérrez and Vargas are two of four Mexican Americans, along with Richard Ledezma and Julián Araujo, who could possibly make the final 26-man roster for Mexico. Both came up in the American soccer system, Vargas through the Seattle Sounders FC academy before signing a four-and-a-half-year contract with La Liga’s Atlético Madrid in the final hours of this winter’s transfer window.

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Who made the USMNT World Cup roster? Meet full 26-man USA squad

The U.S. men’s national team World Cup roster is out, for real this time. Three days after the team’s squad was fully leaked, USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino officially revealed his 26-man roster for the 2026 tournament on Tuesday, May 26. The release confirmed the leak was, in fact, accurate, as the 26 names matched the 26 The Guardian first reported over the weekend. The names didn’t feature too many surprises, though there were still one or two decisions that could be characterized as head-scratching. “We are confident this is the best group of 26 players to help us achieve success at the World Cup,” Pochettino said. See who made the team:

Christian Pulisic, attacking midfielder/winger

(Kevin C. Cox, Getty Images)

Gutiérrez, meanwhile, joined the youth academy of his hometown club, Chicago Fire, at the age of 12 and signed a homegrown player contract with the first team five years later. At the end of 2025, Gutiérrez got his Mexican passport and transferred to Chivas for a reported fee of $5 million.

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Both players also grew up training with the United States Men’s National Team before eventually switching to El Tri. Growing up in immigrant families, they each call both the US and Mexico home. Which has made the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown and its effect on the approximate population of 68 million Latinos living in the United States all the more difficult to process.

“That’s a big emotion,” Gutiérrez told USA TODAY Sports. “Obviously I take that with pride, represent that community.”

Chicago was hit especially hard by what ICE called “Operation Midway Blitz,” a sweeping surge in immigration enforcement that started on Sept. 16 — Mexican Independence Day — and claimed to target “the worst of the worst,” violent criminals without legal status, though 598 of the 614 undocumented immigrants (97%) arrested during that time had no criminal record, according to a report published by NPR.

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“It’s been a hard, hard year for us,” Gutiérrez said. “It’s affected a lot of families, and I take (playing for Mexico) with great pride and hopefully show it on the field.”

It’s admittedly a delicate, but important, topic for Vargas to talk about.

“It’s hard to put it into words and explain everything that you feel going around in the country,” he told USA TODAY Sports. “I have friends and family that have gone through those situations, and I try to support them in the best way possible. Obviously, we’re here for them and all those people.

“I feel identified with those people, so my love and my care always goes out to them.”

When Vargas and Gutiérrez step on the pitch at Estadio Azteca on the world stage on June 11, they’ll be representing their countries and the communities that raised them. Their homes. Their families.

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“To do it in front of my family,” Vargas said in Spanish. “My grandparents, all of my family here in Mexico. I decided to play for Mexico because of them. That’s what I’m most excited about.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mexico players Brian Gutiérrez, Obed Vargas speak on ICE raids


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