DHS Secretary Said That ICE Will Be at the Super Bowl and Responded to the NFL’s Decision to Have Bad Bunny as the Halftime Show Performer
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said immigration enforcement agents will be at the 2026 Super Bowl, escalating tensions following the NFL’s announcement that Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny will headline the halftime show.
Speaking with conservative podcaster Benny Johnson, Noem stated that ICE “will be all over that place.” Until now, the Trump administration had not confirmed any federal immigration presence at the February event.
“We are going to enforce the law. You shouldn’t be coming to the Super Bowl unless you are a law-abiding American citizen,” Noem said.
Noem Blasts NFL for Halftime Show Choice
In the same interview, Noem lashed out at the NFL for its choice of Bad Bunny, suggesting the league had turned its back on American values.
“The NFL sucks and we’ll win,” she said. “They are so weak. We will stand for America. They won’t be able to sleep at night. We’ll fix it.”
The White House has avoided direct comment on the NFL’s decision. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Friday that she wouldn’t “reveal” the president’s opinion, adding there was “no tangible plan” for ICE to be stationed at the Super Bowl.
However, Homeland Security adviser Corey Lewandowski made clear on The Benny Show earlier in the week that enforcement would be aggressive.
“There is nowhere that you can provide safe haven to people in this country illegally. Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else,” Lewandowski said. “We will find you, apprehend you, and deport you.”
Bad Bunny Speaks on ICE Threats and U.S. Absence
Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, said the threat of ICE operations influenced his decision to focus recent performances outside the continental United States.
“There were many reasons why I didn’t show up in the U.S., and none of them were out of hate—I’ve performed there many times,” he told i-D magazine. “But there was the issue of—like, fucking ICE could be outside [my concert]. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”
Instead, the global pop icon completed a 31-show residency in Puerto Rico this summer titled No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí (“I Don’t Want to Leave Here”) and plans to begin an international tour in November, starting in the Dominican Republic.
Super Bowl 2026 Set for Santa Clara
Bad Bunny’s halftime performance is scheduled for February 8, 2026, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The NFL has not commented on the statements from Noem or Lewandowski, though backlash has already begun to ripple through sports and entertainment circles.
