06/16/2026
⚠️ Atlanta, the World Cup is here! ⚠️
👉🏾 Flip through this carousel for three important rights to know if you are stopped by a law enforcement agent!
🔗 Download our full Know Your Rights factsheet for more info on what to do if stopped by an officer: bit.ly/PSKYR
✊🏾 If you’re interested in recruiting or becoming a Sanctuary Zone this summer, visit: bit.ly/sanctuaryzone-atl
Alongside the matches, Atlanta and cities across the United States are hosting dozens of events, watch parties, and celebrations throughout the month. But with this increase in activity comes an increase in policing.
Atlanta has expanded its law enforcement presence, adding nearly 1,000 additional officers to the streets, including local, state, and federal agencies.
It's important to remember our city's history with large-scale sporting events. In the lead-up to the 1996 Olympic Games, Atlanta experienced a dramatic increase in police raids, aggressive sweeps of unhoused communities, and the criminalization of poverty. More than 9,000 unhoused people were arrested, and thousands of low-income residents were displaced as the city worked to present a "world-class" image to the world.
As the World Cup unfolds across the United States, host cities are responding with expanded police presence, increased surveillance, and the deployment of militarized equipment in public spaces.
History shows that when large crowds, heightened security measures, and politically charged conditions converge, marginalized communities often bear the greatest impact through increased harassment, criminalization, and policing.
Atlanta is already one of the most heavily surveilled cities in the country. That's why it's critical for our communities to know our rights, look out for one another, and be prepared to respond when those rights are challenged.
At Project South, we know that community keeps us safe – that we keep us safe – and knowing your rights is the first step you can take to protect yourself and your community.
As part of the ATL Get Ready Team, we’ve been organizing Sanctuary Zones across the city, spaces that are committed to protecting our neighbors and people in our communities from criminalization, creating ICE-free and police-free spaces. Sanctuary Zones are another way we keep us safe.
Whether you're attending a match, gathering at a watch party, participating in an event, or simply moving through the city, being informed helps us care for one another and respond collectively when our rights are threatened.
This month let's make sure our communities are informed, prepared, and looking out for one another. ❤️
