One week after promising “enforcement actions” at Levi’s Stadium during Super Bowl LX, the Department of Homeland Security appeared to have backed off, telling local law enforcement that “there are no planned ICE enforcement operations associated with SBLX.”
The TMZ Sports report Jan. 26 sent shivers across Silicon Valley as the region was about to begin a week of Super Bowl festivities. Later in the week, the online news outlet reported that Homeland Security had no enforcement plans.
Santa Clara County Sheriff Bob Jonsen sought more clarity directly from federal officials. He told San Jose Inside today that he has spoken with Department of Homeland Security officials, “who confirmed that no immigration enforcement operations are currently planned in connection with the Super Bowl or related events.”
City of Santa Clara Police Department spokesman Eric Lagergren also said that his city – home to Levi’s Stadium – has been told by its “federal law enforcement partners” that while Homeland Security agents will be at the Super Bowl site “to keep fans safe,” no immigration enforcement actions are planned.”
Last Tuesday, Assistant Homeland Security Tricia McClaughlin told TMZ Sports that local officials could expect ICE enforcement activities at the Super Bowl.
Today, in an email to San Jose Inside, McClaughlin did not confirm what Jonsen said he was told, except to say that “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.”
“Our mission remains unchanged,” she added. “We will not disclose future operations or discuss personnel. Super Bowl security will entail a whole of government response conducted in-line with the U.S. Constitution.”
The Santa Clara Police Department until today hadn’t indicated it had spoken with ICE or Homeland Security officials.
“Throughout the public safety planning process for SBLX, FIFA World Cup 2026 and major events in Santa Clara, the Santa Clara Police Department has sought the support of regional law enforcement partners for public safety event operations,” Lagergren said today. “Local, regional, state, and federal partners will assist us in our public safety operations for major events in 2026 and beyond, as has occurred since the Stadium opened in 2014. The federal security presence at SBLX is consistent with past Super Bowls and comparable to how DHS protects other major sporting events like the Olympics and World Cup.”
The Sheriff’s Office said that it has not had any “planning or operational coordination with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) related to enforcement actions at the Super Bowl.”
“Our deputies are committed to upholding the Constitution, protecting public safety, and treating every individual with dignity and fairness,” Jonsen in a LinkedIn post. “The Sheriff’s Office does not direct, oversee, or participate in federal immigration enforcement operations. We do not collaborate with ICE on civil immigration enforcement and typically do not receive advance notice of their activities.”
The sheriff added: “If any individual — including a federal agent — were to commit a criminal act within our jurisdiction, we would respond as we would in any case, by following established legal processes, coordinating with appropriate authorities, and ensuring that any action is grounded in law, evidence, and due process.”
At a Tuesday news conference in San Francisco, Cathy Lanier, the National Football League’s chief security officer, was reported in multiple news outlets to have said that while the Department of Homeland Security is part of the overall Super Bowl security infrastructure, ICE agents are not.
“There are no known, no planned ICE or immigration enforcement operations that are scheduled around the Super Bowl or any of the Super Bowl related events – we are confident of that,” she is reported to have said. Lanier declined to say whether the league or law enforcement would be notified about ICE activity at any game events.
A spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom today said, “Although we don't anticipate unusual ICE activity, California will work with state and local officials to ensure everyone's safety. We expect our federal partners to uphold safety, transparency, and trust.”
