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Rumors of ICE at 2026 Super Bowl start to swirl
We are now hearing that speculation is starting to grow surrounding whether ICE agents will be at the 2026 Super Bowl in California where Bad Bunny is set to perform the Halftime Show. This comes as the Latin superstar was announced as the headliner for the Apple Music Super Bowl halftime show. LiveNOW?s Andy Mac is currently getting exclusive updates from TMZ's Michael Babcock.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that ICE agents will conduct enforcement at Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California, on Feb. 8.
Tricia McLaughlin Yoho, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs for the 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 every major sporting event, including the World Cup.
"Our mission remains unchanged."
FILE - An ICE patch and badge are seen on a Department of Homeland Security agent while U.S. Vice President JD Vance gives remarks following a roundtable discussion with local leaders and community members amid a surge of federal immigration authorit …
Thus, ICE will be a visible presence around Levi’s Stadium before the game between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, winners of their respective conferences, after Sunday’s contests.
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Gregory Bovino, chief patrol agent of the 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 Aug. 14, 2025. (Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times via Getty Im …
DHS adviser Corey Lewandowski said back in October that enforcement is a "directive from the president," and will not be paused for the Super Bowl.
"There is nowhere you can provide safe haven to 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. That is a very real situation."
This directive from President Donald Trump comes after he recently said he would be boycotting the Super Bowl, while slamming the halftime show choice of Bad Bunny and now Green Day.
TRUMP TO SKIP SUPER BOWL IN CALIFORNIA, CRICITIZES PERFORMERS BAD BUNNY AND GREEN DAY
Trump attended last year’s game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs in New Orleans, Louisiana.
"It’s just too far away," Trump told told the New York Post. "I would, I’ve [gotten] great hands [at] the 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 chosen, telling Newsmax, "I don’t know who he is," despite his massive popularity around the globe.
FILE - Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny performs on stage during his "Debi tirar mas fotos" world tour in Mexico City on Dec. 10, 2025. (Photo by Alfredo ESTRELLA / AFP via Getty Images)
"I don’t know why they’re doing it. And then they blame it on some promoter they hired to pick up entertainment. I think it’s absolutely ridiculous."
Green Day, then, was selected in the 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 whose birth name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, caught flak from Trump and his supporters given his public comments about the president and his administration. The 31-year-old, who has won three Grammys, expressed fears about ICE, which is why he decided to do a residency in his native Puerto Rico to avoid stops in the United States.
"But there was the issue of, like, f---ing ICE could be outside [my concert]. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about," he told i-D.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell addressed the controversy surrounding the choice of Bad Bunny back in October 2025 during the annual Fall League Meeting.
U.S. President Donald Trump walks onto the field prior to Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles at Caesars Superdome on Feb. 9, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
"It’s carefully thought through," Goodell said of the decision-making process for the halftime show. "I’m not sure we’ve ever selected an artist where we didn’t have some blowback or criticism. It’s pretty hard to do when you have literally hundreds of millions of people that are watching.
"[Bad Bunny] is one of the leading and most popular entertainers in the world," the commissioner said. "That’s what we try to achieve. It’s an important stage for us. It’s an important element to the entertainment value."
The Super Bowl usually requires a strong logistical plans for law enforcement, where government agencies help local authorities maintain a safe environment for the thousands converging on the host city.
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"Super Bowl security will entail a whole of government response conducted in-line with the U.S. Constitution," McLaughlin Yoho added.
"Those who are here legally and are not breaking other laws have nothing to fear."
Fox News' Brie Stimson contributed to this report.