Officials say ICE is not scheduled to attend Super Bowl 60
Officials confirmed there will be no ICE enforcement at any Super Bowl 60 events as federal agencies outline security plans and flight restrictions.
- Hundreds of people protested President Trump’s immigration policies near Levi’s Stadium before Super Bowl 60.
- Despite concerns, law enforcement confirmed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was not present at the event.
- Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna also attended the protest and spoke with organizers about his opposition to more funding for Homeland Security.
- Activists also handed out 15,000 “ICE OUT” towels to fans and encouraged them to display them during the game.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — They came, they marched, they shouted – all under close surveillance. But as many expected, it wasn’t ICE agents patrolling the streets on Super Bowl Sunday.
On February 8, just before kickoff for Super Bowl 60 between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots, hundreds of people occupied a main thoroughfare less than three miles from Levi’s Stadium, slamming President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts using Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol.
Their voices grew louder and echoed through nearby buildings, chanting, “No ICE, no KKK, no racist America,” “Dare to fight, dare to win,” and “Our right to resist, our right to rebel.”
The protests capped a week of rallies, marches and demonstrations in the region, culminating in the largest number of participants on game day.
“We have a right to be noticed and heard,” said Laila Salinas, 22, an organizer with CSO San Jose, one of about 20 sponsors of the protest. “We have to make our presence felt on the world’s biggest stage.”
Even though law enforcement officials confirmed last week that ICE would not be conducting enforcement operations at any Super Bowl 60 event, authorities were still keeping a close eye on demonstrators on foot, on bicycles, and on horseback as they made their way down the Great America Parkway. Santa Clara police said no arrests were made during the approximately two-hour event.
California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna was also watching, spoke with and walked with several protesters, and told USA TODAY that ICE had no presence in the area.
“Our staff received multiple updates throughout the day,” Khanna said, noting that several international soccer matches will be held in his Silicon Valley area in June. “We need to ensure that our staff does not come during the World Cup.”
Mr. Salinas used the opportunity to inform them that Mr. Khanna and his organization have repeatedly reached out to members of Congress to get them involved and ask them to defund the Department of Homeland Security.
Khanna told Salinas he was adamantly “no” to vote on additional Homeland Security funding, as the Department of Homeland Security funding has been extended until Feb. 13, a deadline for Congress to negotiate further. Mr. Khanna told Mr. Salinas that he would continue to keep in touch.
“I told him we need to do more to support what we’re doing, to show that we’re here to protect the community,” Salinas said of pressuring Khanna. “He said he would help us, but actions speak louder than words.”
The turnout was surprising
Doug Wolf, 60, of Boulder Creek, Calif., who carried a sign that read “No Secret Police,” said he was pleasantly surprised by the protesters.
“We don’t need to be here, but you need to get out of here,” Wolf said during the chant. “The Constitution and the Fourth Amendment are being torn to shreds before our eyes. We must stand firm.”
Ariel Ranker, a member of the nonprofit 50501 San Jose, agreed.
“If we don’t stand up and fight back, we may not have a democratic society anymore. This is unacceptable, especially if we still want to call ourselves a democracy,” Ranker, 25, said between chants over a loudspeaker. “This is not the country I grew up in.”
Rankin was excited to hear a call-and-response chant from Santa Clara County Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network (SIREN) organizer Kimberly Wu. He said it has a “home field advantage” over ICE.
“No hate, no fear,” Wu shouted. “Immigrants are welcome here!”
Hours before the protest, several activists handed out about 15,000 towels with the words “ICE OUT” written on them to fans attending the Super Bowl and asked them to hold them up during the game and during Bad Bunny’s halftime performance to protest the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement.
The gesture, called “Flag in the Stand,” was organized by Contra-ICE, a coalition of artists, musicians, and community organizers.
The design, drawn by political cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz, was inspired by Bad Bunny and features a rabbit wearing the singer’s signature pava (straw hat) while holding a grenade in one hand (a nod to local rockers Green Day, who opened the game, and their multi-platinum album American Idiot). A rabbit kicks a soccer ball inside a block of frozen ice.
One volunteer, Dan Reynolds, said they handed out more than 600 towels to fans. Several people graciously handed it back to him.
“That’s not a bad percentage,” Reynolds said of running out of stock. “I hope they are put to good use.”
Seahawks fan Mickey Ellingsen, 59, of Seattle, said he wished he had caught more.
“That’s right,” Ellingsen said, waving a towel. “I’m proud to be able to do that.”
