FIFA President Gianni Infantino and his inner circle allegedly leveraged connections to the Trump administration to secure a work permit for his undocumented housekeeper, according to sources cited by the New York Post.
FIFA reportedly continued to employ Yajarlin del Socorro Fernandez, a 33-year-old Nicaraguan national, for months after her work authorization was revoked by the Trump administration. An internal FIFA letter indicates Fernandez remained employed by the soccer organization through October 2025, more than four months after her permission to work in the U.S. was rescinded.
Fernandez had initially obtained a C11 parole work authorization under the Department of Homeland Security during the Trump administration. However, this authorization was revoked in June 2025 after the Supreme Court allowed the administration to terminate a four-country humanitarian parole scheme.
Following the revocation, sources claim Infantino asked Carlos Cordeiro, a former Goldman Sachs banker and a Trump administration appointee to the White House's World Cup task force, to intervene on Fernandez's behalf. Cordeiro allegedly instructed a subordinate to use his own Miami rental address on Fernandez's immigration filings, concealing her actual place of employment with Infantino's family. This maneuver reportedly led to Fernandez receiving a new temporary work permit in early 2026.
An immigration attorney, Michael Wildes, who previously represented First Lady Melania Trump, commented that the issuance of a new C11 permit after the termination of the overarching program is highly unusual. He stated that such preferential treatment is typically out of reach for most noncitizens, suggesting Fernandez may have received special consideration. Daily work permits are generally reserved for individuals fleeing war zones or the immediate families of military troops.
FIFA and Infantino did not respond to The Post's requests for comment on the matter. Cordeiro also declined to address his alleged role, stating he was unaware of the story.
FIFA's US subsidiary, FIFA (Americas) Inc., lists top global FIFA officials, including Secretary General Mattias Grafström and Chief Legal Officer Emilio Garcia Silvero, as directors. The New York Post reported that Infantino's wife, Leena, initially hired Fernandez before she had obtained any work permit. The family reportedly resides at the One Thousand Museum luxury building in Miami.
The arrangement comes as Infantino faces scrutiny over FIFA's business dealings, including a recently collapsed plan to privatize the organization's commercial operations and fallout from the 2015 corruption indictments that led to his predecessor, Sepp Blatter, being ousted.