ICE Not Planning Immigration Enforcement Operations At Super Bowl
SAN FRANCISCO – Immigration and Customs Enforcement has no planned immigration operations at Sunday’s Super Bowl LX, according to a communication from the game’s host committee to local officials.
The Bay Area’s host committee informed elected officials in San Francisco, Santa Clara and San Jose of the development in a memo following calls Friday with members of the NFL security and events teams and federal and local law enforcement officials.
The host committee wrote in the memo, a copy of which was obtained Monday by The Washington Post: “Public safety is our top priority for Super Bowl LX. We have been in daily contact with the NFL, which has confirmed the following with the Department of Homeland Security: There are no planned ICE immigration enforcement operations associated with SBLX.”
The committee wrote that in “coordination with NFL security and local law enforcement, DHS will have federal agents at the Super Bowl to keep fans safe.” It added that the “federal security presence at SBLX is consistent with past Super Bowls and comparable to how DHS protects other major sporting events like the Olympics and World Cup.”
Cathy L. Lanier, the NFL’s chief security officer and a former D.C. police chief, confirmed the host committee’s assertion Tuesday.
“There are no planned ICE or immigration enforcement operations that are scheduled around the Super Bowl or any of the Super Bowl-related events,” Lanier said at a news conference related to Super Bowl security.
As with any Super Bowl, there are many related events for fans scheduled for the week leading up to the game.
“That includes all of the Super Bowl-related events,” Lanier said. “Again, we’ve been working with our DHS partners for 18 months. Everybody has got specific roles that they’re assigned to. There’s no ICE agents assigned as a part of our security team here. But everybody is focused on our mission here and already at it as of this morning.”
Jeffrey M. Brannigan, the Department of Homeland Security’s designated federal coordinator for Super Bowl LX, was asked during Tuesday’s news conference whether he also would commit to no ICE operations at the Super Bowl.
“I defer to Chief Lanier on those questions,” Brannigan said.
Of the DHS role at the Super Bowl, Brannigan said: “Our responsibility is to support the security planning of the cities that are responsible for these events. And that is what we are doing. There are multiple DHS agencies involved in that effort, including DHS law enforcement but not exclusive to DHS law enforcement. … The department’s depth in providing services, technical expertise and personnel to this event and other special events is wide ranging and well established.”
The Seattle Seahawks are scheduled to face the New England Patriots on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
The Department of Homeland Security did not specify its plans Monday.
“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 every major sporting event, including the World Cup. Our mission remains unchanged,” assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “We will not disclose future operations or discuss personnel. Super Bowl security will entail a whole of government response conducted in-line with the U.S. Constitution. Those who are here legally and are not breaking other laws have nothing to fear.”
Protests have erupted in cities nationwide in recent weeks over federal immigration personnel’s deployment across the country and the fatal shootings of two Americans, Renée Good and Alex Pretti, in Minneapolis last month.
The killing of Pretti, an ICU nurse, two weeks after immigration officers fatally shot Good, a poet and mother of three, added to mounting public outrage and demands for accountability over the militarized tactics the Trump administration has pursued while ramping up immigration enforcement.
Bad Bunny, the halftime performer at the Super Bowl, sharply criticized ICE during Sunday’s Grammy Awards. The Puerto Rican rapper, who won best música urbana album, received a standing ovation for his remarks.
“Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say: ICE out,” Bad Bunny said. “We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans. And we are Americans. … The only thing that is more powerful than hate is love.”
President Donald Trump, after attending last year’s Super Bowl in New Orleans, has said he will not attend this year’s game. He has cited the distance of the game from the East Coast and the selections of the musical performers.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem previously said ICE would conduct enforcement activities at the Super Bowl.
“I have the responsibility to make sure everybody who goes to the Super Bowl has the opportunity to enjoy it and to leave safely,” Noem told Benny Johnson on “The Benny Show” in October, according to Fox News. “That’s what America’s about. We’ll be all over that place.”
Noem said then that those attending the Super Bowl should be law-abiding Americans “who love this country.”
The Super Bowl is classified as a Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) Level 1 event, which DHS defines as “significant events with national and/or international importance that require extensive federal interagency support.” As with other NFL games, flight above the stadium will be temporarily restricted. Federal authorities will be on hand to mitigate any threatening drone activity. State and local authorities and local law enforcement, the NFL and a collection of federal agencies are involved in the planning.
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Goodell on security
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell did not directly address the issue of ICE operations at his annual news conference during Super Bowl week Monday.
“Security is obviously one of the things we focus on the most,” Goodell said. “It’s a SEAR 1 level event that involves unique assets at the federal level, the state level and the local level all working together. I see no change in that in the preparations for the Super Bowl. We have not seen that. We’re working with all three of those levels and doing everything we can to make sure it’s the safest environment. And the federal government is a big part of that, including this administration and every other administration before that. … I just anticipate we’ll continue to do the work to make it the safest event.”
Goodell called Bad Bunny “one of the great artists in the world” and added: “That’s one of the reasons we chose him. But the other reason is he understood the platform he was on. And this platform is to use to unite people and to be able to bring people together with their creativity, with their talent and to be able to use this moment to do that. … I think he’ll have a great performance.”
(c) 2026, The Washington Post
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