Excitement is building in Silicon Valley as Levi’s Stadium prepares to host Super Bowl LX, now less than two weeks away. New traffic routes, public transportation schedules, specials at retailers, hotels, clubs and restaurants are being announced, in preparation for the festivities surrounding the Feb. 8 game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots.

Also looming on the horizon is the specter of Immigration Customs Enforcement.

ICE statements this week reminded football fans and local officials that its agents will be at the big game in force, even as anti-ICE sentiments grow.

The Department of Homeland Security has no plans to steer clear of the Super Bowl, despite the tension and unrest after the two fatal shootings in Minnesota, telling TMZ Sports on Tuesday, "Those who are here legally and are not breaking other laws have nothing to fear."

Federal officials confirmed that agents will be conducting “enforcement actions” inside and outside Levi’s Stadium before, during and after the game, without providing any details.

Tricia McLaughlin Yoho, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs for the DHS, told TMZ Sports, “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.”

"Super Bowl security will entail a whole of government response conducted in-line with the U.S. Constitution," McLaughlin Yoho added.

"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. "Our mission remains unchanged."

Local officials have not been briefed on any details of the ICE Super Bowl plans.

Officials from the County of Santa Clara, City of Santa Clara, County of San Mateo, and City and County of San Francisco have joined forces to keep the public safe and informed, urging residents and visitors to sign up for free emergency text alerts during Super Bowl festivities.

Sign up for emergency alerts

The Santa Clara Police Department is the lead law enforcement agency for planning and implementing both the Super Bowl and the summer FIFA World Cup events. It’s relying on partner agencies to help supplement its 144-officer force. The small city’s population of 134,000 is slightly less than double the 68,500-capacity of Levi’s Stadium. San Jose, with its nearly 1 million residents, surrounds Santa Clara on three sides.

“With thousands of residents and visitors expected in Santa Clara for Super Bowl LX, staying informed is one of the simplest and most effective ways people can help keep themselves and others safe,” said Santa Clara Police Chief Cory Morgan in a statement. “By signing up for local emergency alerts, community members can receive real-time information about traffic changes, weather or public safety updates that may affect their plans.”

This joint regional initiative aims to ensure that important emergency information about safety issues, traffic disruptions, or severe weather is shared quickly with all community members throughout the big game week.

“Super Bowl LX is a major multijurisdictional event that requires close coordination across county and city lines to keep our communities safe,” said Dana Reed, director of the County of Santa Clara Office of Emergency Management (OEM). “By working closely with our neighbors in San Mateo and San Francisco and other jurisdictional partners, we ensure that every resident and visitor has access to timely, lifesaving information.”

Mahan comments on Minneapolis killings

In a special social media message posted Sunday evening, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan addressed the uncertainties and heightened anxiety after Saturday’s second fatal shooting by ICE in Minneapolis.The mayor’s statement was short on specifics, and it ignited a blizzard of responses on social media – both praising and condemning what he said, and what he didn’t say.

“I know there is immense fear in the community,” Mahan said in the post. “And I want to thank those who have peacefully assembled in recent days – as is your right.”

“As our region prepares for [the] Super Bowl and the threat that ICE may conduct enforcement activities in the area, I want to make one thing very clear: Our San Jose police officers are here to keep you safe,” said Mahan. “They cannot and will not interrupt or assist with legal immigration enforcement – but they will protect you, your freedoms and our city.”

“We are in this together, San Jose. We will not allow what is happening in Minnesota to happen here. My heart goes out to the families of Renee Good and Alex Pretti [the two victims of ICE shootings in Minneapolis),” he said.

“Our nation was founded on one fundamental value in mind – freedom. Freedom to speak, freedom to assemble and the foundational freedoms of life and liberty,” said the mayor. “Now two Americans have lost their lives at the hands of federal agents. A mother and an ICU nurse in Minnesota were killed while exercising their fundamental liberties, which our government is entrusted to protect. This is not what safety looks like.”

In Washington, Congressman Sam Liccardo this week signed articles of impeachment to remove Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem from office.

Last week, the San Jose Democrat voted against funding of ICE and the Department of Homeland Security.

“As a former federal prosecutor and mayor, I worked with law enforcement every day–courageous women and men who put service above self,” Liccardo said in a statement. “What we see now isn’t law enforcement—it’s lawlessness.”

“Kristi Noem and her accomplices have unleashed brutality in the service of political ambition, killing American citizens, locking up 5-year-old children and terrorizing our communities. This conduct warrants independent, criminal investigations of everyone involved, including Secretary Noem herself.”

‘ICE-free zones’

The San Jose City Council voted unanimously Jan. 13 to ban ICE agents from using 11 city garages and parking lots,or the parking areas of 75 community centers and libraries as staging areas or operational bases.

Santa Clara County last October passed a similar policy to block ICE from using county-owned vacant lots, garages and other spaces for immigration enforcement.

Signs designating ICE-free areas are to be posted at all city locations, and gates will be installed where appropriate, according to the city. City employees who become aware of ICE activity will be required to report it to their supervisors. San Jose will continue to update its list of prohibited properties.

The policy isn’t meant to impede federal officials from carrying out their duties under the law, such as operating Transportation Security Administration checkpoints at San Jose Mineta International Airport for aviation purposes, according to the city San Jose also prohibits law enforcement from wearing masks in the city.

Because Levi’s Stadium is within the Santa Clara city limits, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department does not have primary police jurisdiction, but it is part of the joint public safety efforts surrounding the Super Bowl.

The sheriff’s ‘no collaboration’ policy

In response to an inquiry about cooperation with ICE, the Sheriff’s Office released a statement saying it “does not collaborate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Border Patrol on civil immigration enforcement, and we typically do not receive advance notice of their activities.”
“Our priority is maintaining a safe environment for everyone, and we encourage all community members to attend and enjoy these events without fear,” the Sheriff’s Office statement read. “Our focus is on public safety and community trust. We do not participate in civil immigration enforcement and serve all members of the community equally.”

Additional details on the department’s immigration enforcement policies can be found here.

In its policy statement the Sheriff’s Office said “Our employees are not immigration agents and do not help with civil immigration enforcement actions or ‘ICE raids.’

“As your local law enforcement, our job is to enforce the laws of California and Santa Clara County, and ultimately to protect the community by investigating crimes. We are not immigration agents. We serve all members of the community equally, regardless of nationality, language, citizenship, or immigration status.”

The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office does not transfer people to ICE for deportation based on civil immigration violations, but it will transfer a person from County Jail to ICE custody if ICE has a valid court order or arrest warrant signed by a federal or state judge. “We can’t honor ICE’s “administrative warrants,” which are used for civil immigration enforcement and are not approved by a judge,” the Sheriff’s Office statement reads.

No comment from Santa Clara

In the City of Santa Clara, ground zero for ICE actions at the Super Bowl, elected officials have been silent in the wake of ICE actions in Minneapolis and its announcement of enforcement actions at Levi’s Stadium on Feb. 8

The Santa Clara Police Department has posted a somewhat nuanced policy about ICE:

“The [Santa Clara] Police Department will not conduct sweeps or other coordinated efforts to detain suspected undocumented immigrants. It is neither the Police Department's mission or role. The Police Department will not detain, question or arrest a person for the sole purpose of discovering a person’s citizenship or status under civil immigration laws.

“The responsibility for enforcement of civil immigration laws rests with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Removal Operations. ICE personnel are not allowed access to individuals detained by the Police Department, unless their access is needed for a serious criminal investigation. The Police Department will only participate in an ICE operation if Police Department assistance becomes needed (e.g. officer safety, traffic control, peacekeeping efforts, etc.).”

 

Three decades of journalism experience, as a writer and editor with Gannett, Knight-Ridder and Lee newspapers, as a business journal editor and publisher and as a weekly newspaper editor in Scotts Valley and Gilroy; with the Weeklys group since 2017. Recipient of several first-place writing and editing awards, California News Publishers Association.