A diverse group of activists, small businesses, faith organizations, lawyers and artists are collaborating to ensure that FIFA fans can enjoy the world cup safely: After a year of ever-increasing aggression from ICE, the Horizons Project and a coalition of collaborators have launched “No ICE in the Cup,” a campaign to keep the immigration enforcement unit out of the game.

“Soccer has long been a unifying force that transcends borders and backgrounds, and the World Cup should be a celebration that reflects that spirit of competition and fair play,” said Julia Roig, founder and chief network weaver at Horizons Project. “This campaign demonstrates what’s possible when we organize across ideologies and sectors and create spaces where all people — regardless of immigration status — can gather, celebrate and experience community without fear.”

On the ground, businesses that will host watch parties, games and other World Cup events in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Philadelphia, Miami, Seattle, New York City and Los Angeles are preparing to create safe spaces for fans. To spread awareness, film director, activist and author Paola Mendoza commissioned artists around the country to create artworks inspired by the anti-ICE message.

Shaina Lu, a Boston-based queer Taiwanese-American artist participated in the project. Her artwork depicts a young woman with two braids tied with ribbons and bows dressed as a referee, holding a red card and blowing a whistle. The red card reads “Fuera ICE” (ICE out) and bold script winding throughout the artwork says “No ICE in the cup.” The whistle is a reference to a foul or stop in the game as well as how protesters use whistles to warn about the presence of ICE agents.

The figure’s braids and ribbons come from another activist campaign, “Ponte Your Moños,” which encourages Latinas to embrace their cultural aesthetics, in particular the interweaving of braids and ribbons, and to use them as protection. The tiles around the border of Lu’s artwork include miniature references to Boston like the MBTA “T” symbol, a lobster, a duckling, a shamrock and more.

“All art is political,” said Lu. Here she chose to embrace and harness that politicism. “I hope that Massachusetts and the rest of the nation have a joyful, fearless and safe World Cup experience.”

Artists from New York City, Dallas, Atlanta, Kansas City, Seattle, Houston, Philadelphia, Miami and Los Angeles also participated. The Horizons Project encourages folks to download and share the artworks and to get involved in their communities, learning about immigrant rights and preventive measures to protect against raids.

“The violence ICE has inflicted on immigrant communities has left millions of people feeling scared and alone, but this is precisely when artists must get to work,” said Mendoza. “Art has the power to bring people together when fear pushes us into silos. When we connect the power of art with the love of soccer, the possibility to protect people and our democracy is unstoppable.”

ON THE WEB

Learn more at noiceinthecup.us