The United States Marshalls Service (USMS) recovered 35 missing children in Massachusetts in an operation preparing for the FIFA World Cup matches.

USMS published a statement Thursday announcing that the “District of Massachusetts (D/MA) and partner agencies at the Massachusetts State Police, Boston Police, and Essex, Plymouth, and Suffolk District Attorneys’ Offices” rescued 35 children and “safely reunited with family members or placed with appropriate protective services.”

The operation, which began in April, will run through the end of the World Cup in mid-July. The State Department estimates the U.S. will receive as many as 10 million tourists this summer for the World Cup games.

The children were recovered as a part of “Operation Yellow Card,” described as a “targeted, high-impact missing child operational initiative designed to locate and recover endangered youth within and from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts prior to and throughout the upcoming FIFA World Cup soccer tournament.”

Operation Yellow Card is in “anticipation of the influx of hundreds of thousands of international visitors and spectators,” according to the USMS statement. “Law enforcement agencies have implemented proactive measures to identify and protect vulnerable missing children who have an elevated risk of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation.” (RELATED: Florida Authorities Nab A Dozen Men In Human Trafficking Sting Ahead Of World Cup)

“Large-scale international gatherings historically bring a heightened risk of predatory exploitation targeting our communities’ most vulnerable youth,” acting U.S. Marshal Dennis Matulewicz said in the statement. “This operation’s early success in recovering 35 high-risk missing children is a direct result of the extraordinary, seamless cooperation between the U.S. Marshals Service and our outstanding state, local, and federal law enforcement partners across Massachusetts.”

“Together, we are sending an unambiguous message to those who seek to harm children: we are aware, we are acting, and we will never stop looking for those in danger, nor will we relent in pursuing those who prey on them,” Matulewicz added.

35 Missing Children from Massachusetts Recovered During U.S. Marshals-Led Operation Ahead of FIFA World Cup#USMarshals https://t.co/fPeoDelXpX

— U.S. Marshals Service (@USMarshalsHQ) June 15, 2026

“Every missing and vulnerable young person deserves safety and security and to be given the opportunity to live free from the threat of exploitation,” Massachusetts State Police Colonel Geoffrey Noble said in the statement.

Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz emphasized, “Locating missing and endangered children does not come and go with an international soccer tournament, it is an issue facing our youth year-round.”

Similar operations are occurring around the nation in preparation for the increased human trafficking risk surrounding the World Cup. A sting operation in Miami led to the arrest of 12 suspected child predators June 11.

The U.S. Marshalls Service encourages anyone with information regarding missing or exploited children to contact local law enforcement or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST).