Jeffries urges Rubio to ensure Cape Verde goalkeeper’s mother gets visa for World Cup

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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to ensure the mother of Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha can attend her son’s next FIFA World Cup match.

Cape Verde on Monday played to a 0-0 draw in Atlanta against Spain, one of the pre-tournament favorites. That was in part thanks to Vozinha, whose seven saves earned him player of the match honors from FIFA.

Jeffries wrote on X that Cape Verde, the 64th-ranked team in the world, tied third-ranked Spain “on the strength of a historic performance” by Vozinha. The match marked the Cape Verde men’s team’s first appearance in the World Cup.

“His Mom was unable to be there because of visa complications,” Jeffries added. “No mother should miss the chance to see her child make history.”

The New York Democrat added that he asked Rubio “to do everything in his power to ensure” that Vozinha’s mother can attend Cape Verde’s next match — set for Sunday against Uruguay in Miami Gardens, Fla.

The Hill has reached out to the State Department for comment on the Democratic lawmaker’s request and for details on the visa issue that the goalkeeper’s mother had.

After the match, the 40-year-old Vozinha lamented that his mother and his late grandparents could not be in attendance.

“I cried after the game because I grew up with my grandparents when I was a kid, and they could not be there,” he told reporters, according to The Athletic. “They passed away a few years ago.”

He added, “My mum could not be here either for a visa issue, and the money we had to pay for it. We did not manage to do this in time.”

A standard nonimmigrant visa fee $185, according to the State Department.

After its tilt against Uruguay, Cape Verde will face Saudi Arabia for its final Group H match on June 26 in Houston. The next two matches will determine whether the World Cup debutants, hailing from an archipelago off the coast of Africa, will advance to the knockout round.

Numerous foreign nationals traveling to the U.S. for the World Cup have dealt with visa issues. The federal government denied entry to members of the Iranian team’s traveling party, while Somali referee Omar Artan also could not enter the U.S.

Andrew Giuliani, President Trump’s czar for the tournament, told CBS News on Sunday that Artan “was talking to some very bad people.”

Giuliani added, “There’s some classified information we can’t discuss now. At some point, that may be released.”

Updated at 2:07 p.m. EDT

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Andrew Giuliani

Donald Trump

Hakeem Jeffries

Marco Rubio

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