This week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) of the State of Qatar issued a joint statement about their intention to safeguard all attendees and athletes at the FIFA World Cup, which will take place in Qatar later this year. 

Robert Silvers, DHS under secretary for Policy, met with Prime Minister and Minister of Interior H.E. Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al-Thani in Doha to discuss their respective security concerns and reaffirm their commitment to enhancing cooperation to guarantee safety for athletes and attendees at the event, a DHS press release said. 

The Transportation and Security Administration (TSA) stated that it would aid with security-related concerns such as screening, insider risk management, luggage inspection and others. The TSA will also provide technical assistance to the Qatari Civil Aviation Agency, and it will send personnel for a Joint Operations Center that will support daily screening and operational assistance to airports in Qatar. 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the federal agency that is in charge of border security and immigration, said that it would assist with passenger and cargo screening operations, fraud document detection, automated targeting and risk management, the use of plainclothes personnel to aid in identification of suspicious individuals, port courtesy procedures for VIPs, and air freight interdiction. CBP also pledged to host a group from Qatar at its National Targeting Center and increase data sharing in order to improve the recognition of fraudulent visas and suspicious travelers.