With the Super Bowl five days away, DHS has not publicly confirmed its stance on ICE enforcement at and around the game.
The NFL expressed on Tuesday that it's "confident" that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents won't be at the Super Bowl on Sunday, in conflict with previous statements from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials.
The NFL's chief security officer, Cathy Lanier, addressed the topic during a security briefing with reporters ahead of Sunday's game at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
"There's no planned ICE enforcement activities," Lanier said. "We are confident of that."
Lanier's claim stands in conflict with repeated statements from DHS officials that ICE will have a presence at the Super Bowl amid a nationwide campaign targeting immigrants for deportation under President Donald Trump.
DHS: Super Bowl not a 'safe haven'
DHS adviser Corey Lewandowski said on a podcast in October that the Super Bowl would not be a "safe haven" for targets of ICE activities.
“There is nowhere that you can provide safe haven to people who are in this country illegally," Lewandowski said. "Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else. We will find you. We will apprehend you. We will put you in a detention facility, and we will deport you.”
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem echoed Lewandowski's statement, saying on the same podcast that ICE will be "all over" the Super Bowl.
Lewandowski and Noem made their statements shortly after the NFL announced that Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny would headline the Super Bowl halftime show. Noem said this of the NFL when asked what message she wanted send the league in response to its decision to feature Bad Bunny:
"They suck, and we'll win," Noem said. "They won't be able to sleep at night because they don't know what they believe. And they're so weak, we'll fix it."
Bad Bunny pushes back
Bad Bunny is a vocal critic of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement campaign and reiterated his stance during an acceptance speech at the Grammy awards Sunday night.
“Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say ICE out,” he said. “We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens, we are humans and we are Americans ... The hate gets more powerful with more hate. The only thing that is more powerful than hate is love.
"So please, we need to be different. If we fight, we have to do it with love.”
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell reiterated the league's support for Bad Bunny as the Super Bowl halftime performer in a news conference on Monday.
ICE, DHS plans for Super Bowl remain murky
DHS has not confirmed in recent days whether or not it has plans for ICE enforcement at and around the Super Bowl. Per the Associated Press, DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin refused to say whether federal immigration agents will be present around the game.
AP reports that DHS official Jeff Brannigan indicated in private calls with local law enforcement and the the NFL that ICE does not plan to conduct enforcement activities around the Super Bowl. DHS has not publicly confirmed that stance, and concerns remain among critics that a Trump administration prone to changing its mind could do so if that is the plan.
ICE and its tactics are under increased nationwide scrutiny in the aftermath of the shooting deaths of U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good by agents.
Category: General Sports
