It’s still unclear whether ICE operations are planned in connection with Super Bowl LX

In October 2025, the Department of Homeland Security said that ICE agents will be present for Super Bowl LX. It’s now unclear whether that’s the case.

Via Mark Maske of the Washington Post, the Super Bowl host committee informed elected officials in San Francisco, Santa Clara, and San Jose that there will be no ICE operations in connection with the game.

“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,” the memo explained. “There are no planned ICE immigration enforcement operations associated with [Super Bowl LX].”

The memo added that “DHS will have federal agents at the Super Bowl to keep fans safe,” and that the “federal security presence at [Super Bowl LX] is consistent with past Super Bowls and comparable to how DHS protects other major sporting events like the Olympics and World Cup.”

However, the Department of Homeland Security was unwilling to rule out ICE enforcement efforts in connection with the Super Bowl.

“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, “assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a written statement, per Maske. “Our mission remains unchanged. 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.”

That’s a broad statement (and, given recent events in Minneapolis, an inaccurate one). It implies efforts to apprehend those who are not here legally.

Which would make the situation in and around the Super Bowl no different than the various other instances in which ICE, contrary to the campaign promise to apprehend the “worst of the worst,” is targeting the best of the best who, like the vast majority of immigrants (including all four of my grandparents), came to the United States in search of the American dream.