SAN FRANCISCO — The NFL’s chief security officer said she is “confident” that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has no planned operations leading up to and through Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday.
“We are confident of that,” Cathy Lanier said during the NFL’s Super Bowl security and public safety news conference on Tuesday, adding that there are no known credible threats to the Super Bowl or surrounding events. “There is not ICE deployed with us at the Super Bowl and I don’t believe there has been in the last several. But most of the other departments from the Coast Guard to many other agencies are here.”
The Bay Area Host Committee has previously sent a memo to local officials in Santa Clara, San Jose and San Francisco about Super Bowl security plans and potential ICE activity, according to a report by The Athletic.
Lanier said any ICE activity for the Super Bowl would be similar to previous Super Bowls and that of other major sporting events such as the Olympics and World Cup. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed last week that some ICE agents would be in Italy for diplomatic security during this month’s Olympics, but will not be working in an immigration or customs capacity.
ICE has come under fire for its handling of President Donald Trump’s immigration and border control agenda, most recently in Minneapolis. Minnesota citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti were shot and killed by ICE agents, with video of the incidents circulated globally.
Lanier and Jeffrey Brannigan, a federal coordinator special agent for DHS, were asked if they could commit to there being not ICE enforcement operations around Levi’s Stadium on Sunday.
“Everybody has got specific roles that they’re assigned to,” Lanier said. “There’s no ICE agents assigned as a part of our security team here, but everybody is focused on their mission here and (are) already at it as of this morning.”
The concern with potential ICE activity around the Super Bowl was heightened with the announcement in September that Bad Bunny will be the halftime performer. President Trump called the choice “absolutely ridiculous” in an interview with conservative news network Newsmax, but the NFL stood firm with its decision.
Bad Bunny, whose name is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, has been highly critical of the ICE raids and did not include United States locations on his most recent tour. A native of Puerto Rico whose lyrics are mostly in Spanish, Bad Bunny won three Grammy awards on Sunday, including album of the year.
