This article was originally written by Christopher Corona on October 8, 2026 and translated into English by Diego Tovar on October 8, 2026.

Daniela Silva attended the September 26th match between Austin FC and San Diego FC wearing a jersey that said “Abolish ICE.” This jersey would cause Silva to get kicked out from the stadium and banned for the next 12 months.

“They removed Daniela because they offered her a different shirt” said Natalia Coveney, a UT alum with a Master’s in Sports Management. “They said her Abolish ICE shirt was
ultimately a form of political speech that technically isn’t allowed in the stadium.”

In an interview with Natalie Grigson of MySA, Silva mentioned that she was approached by stadium staff to inform her of the rule which eventually led to her expulsion from the stadium.

“To [Austin FC], it’s MLS code of conduct, and thus the policy we follow says, no political speech,” said Coveney. In another video she says “This rule is very common, but that doesn’t mean it’s good.”

La Murga de Austin, a musical ensemble that supports Austin FC, and Los Verdes, an Austin FC fanclub, both of which were present during the match, collaborated in a social media post in which they highlighted that a Venezuelan member of the Austin community was shot six days earlier by ICE, and as a result of such events, they said the club has the responsibility to defend the Hispanic community: “In the days since, members of our community have questioned whether they feel safe and welcome returning to the Q2 Stadium. This should matter to Austin FC,” said the publication. “The club has the responsibility to make it clear that our hispanic and immigrant communities are welcome and safe in the Q2 Stadium.”

Additionally, Silva told Grigson that she was told by others that the office building in which Austin FC resides was also being leased out by ICE. These rumors would add on to the existing narratives that link Austin FC with ICE.

Texan En Español was not able to confirm these statements, and Austin FC has denied all accusations and we were not able to find evidence that corroborates the opposite. Nevertheless, these rumors still added onto the tension during the match.

The day before Silva was suspended from the stadium, Coveney posted a video to Sunrise Movement ATX’s social media in which she accused ICE,based off of third-party accounts, of detaining individuals in a lot close to the offices of Austin FC. Texan en Español was not able to find any evidence confirming the veracity of these statements nor any evidence of the contrary.

“When that post went up, it got a lot of traction very immediately for Austin FC. And so people are paying attention,” said Coveney. “This happening 24 hours before the match.”

“And now people are also not watching the full video and jumping to conclusions that somehow Austin FC is facilitating ice activity,” said Coveney. “And as much as I do in our context, to properly criticize Austin FC for whatever role they have in this.
That is not objectively true.”

What is within three blocks of Austin FC’s main office on 1825-B Kramer Lane, Suite 150 is BI Incorporated.  According to Geo Group, BI Incorporated is a subsidiary of Geo Group which works directly with ICE to help carry out their “Intensive Supervision Attendance Program.”

BI Incorporated provides ICE case management technology for individuals under immigration supervision.

“I think this rule is used to create a facade of neutrality which is not possible in political times especially such as these,” said Silva. “It’d make me feel safe from Q2 and [Austin FC] if they straight up made a public statement that we do not support ICE. We have not and will not ever work with ICE.”

The club made an official statement on September 28, 2026 expressing that they followed stadium policies when handling the situation.

“Despite reports to the contrary, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has not been present at Q2 Stadium during matches including last Saturday night. We can also confirm that ICE does not use Austin FC’s offices or facilities,” said the announcement by Austin FC.

Coveney expressed that she would be removing her support from the club, but she remains hopeful that Austin FC will come out in support of Daniela Silva and the anti-ICE community and possibly amend the stadium policy and the MLS code of conduct, regaining her support.

“I don’t think for my own leisure, I would go back [to an Austin FC] right now,” said Coveney. “And I say very genuinely my goal in pursuing this conversation is not to cancel Austin FC. I believe in giving the people the chance to correct themselves.”