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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that ICE agents will conduct enforcement at Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California on February 8.
Tricia McLaughlin Yoho, assistant secretary of public affairs for DHS, told TMZ Sports, “DHS is committed to working with our local and federal partners to ensure the Super Bowl is safe for everyone involved, as we do with any major sporting event, including the World Cup.
“Our mission remains unchanged.”
Thus, ICE will be a visible presence around Levi’s Stadium before the game between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, winners of their respective conferences, after Sunday’s contests.
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Gregory Bovino, chief patrol agent for El Centro Sector and commander of Operation At Large CA, marches with federal agents toward the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building in Los Angeles on August 14, 2025. (Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
DHS adviser Corey Lewandowski said back in October that enforcement is a “directive of the president” and will not be paused for the Super Bowl.
“There’s nowhere you can provide a safe haven for people who are in this country illegally,” Lewandowski said on “The Benny Show” podcast. “Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else. We will find and deport you. It’s a very real situation.”
This directive from President Donald Trump comes after he recently said he would boycott the Super Bowl while slamming the halftime selection of Bad Bunny and now Green Day.
TRUMP SKIPS CALIFORNIA SUPER BOWL, CRITICIZES BAD BUNNY AND GREEN DAY PERFORMERS
Trump attended last year’s game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs in New Orleans, Louisiana.
“It’s just too far away,” Trump told the New York Post. “I would, I have [gotten] big hands [at] Super Bowl. They like me.
“I would go if you know it was a little bit shorter.”
Trump has openly criticized Bad Bunny since he was elected, telling Newsmax, “I don’t know who he is,” despite his massive popularity across the globe.
Bad Bunny accepts the award for best música urbana album for “Un Verano Sin Ti”. (Robert Hanashiro/USA TODAY NETWORK)
“I don’t know why they do that. And then they blame it on a promoter they hired to get entertainment. I think that’s completely ridiculous.”
Green Day was thus chosen last week to play before kickoff at Levi’s Stadium. Both Bad Bunny and Green Day have been vocal about their dislike of Trump.
Bad Bunny, the Grammy-winning Puerto Rican artist born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, took on Trump and his supporters over his public comments about the president and his administration. The 31-year-old, who has won three Grammys, expressed fear of ICE, which is why he decided to take up residence in his native Puerto Rico to avoid being stopped in the United States.
“But there was the question of f—ing ICE being outside [my concert]. And that’s something we talked about and were very concerned about,” he told iD.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell addressed the controversy surrounding the selection of Bad Bunny back in October 2025 during the annual Fall League Meeting.
United States President Donald Trump walks the field prior to Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles at the Caesars Superdome on February 9, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
“It’s carefully thought out,” Goodell said of the halftime show decision-making process. “I’m not sure we’ve ever picked an artist where we haven’t had some backlash or criticism. That’s pretty hard to do when you have literally hundreds of millions of people watching.
“[Bad Bunny] is one of the leading and most popular entertainers in the world,” said the commissioner. “That’s what we’re trying to achieve. This is an important phase for us. It’s an important element of the entertainment value.”
The Super Bowl usually requires strong logistical plans for law enforcement, with government agencies helping local authorities maintain a safe environment for the thousands who gather around the host city.
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent waits as a group of undocumented men, not pictured, are deported to Mexico at the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego, California, U.S., Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015. (David Maung/Bloomberg)
“Super Bowl security will involve a whole of government response conducted in accordance with the United States Constitution,” added McLaughlin Yoho.
“Those who are here legally and do not break other laws have nothing to fear.”
