The NFL has announced that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will not be carrying out enforcement operations at Super Bowl LX between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots
During a recent security briefing, NFL chief security officer Cathy Lanier stated there were no planned ICE enforcement activities, according to Breitbart. There are no planned ICE enforcement activities, Lanier reiterated. We are confident of that.
This assurance appears to conflict with earlier statements from the Biden administrations own Department of Homeland Security (DHS), raising questions about whether political pressure is overriding immigration law at one of the nations largest sporting events. Breitbart News previously reported that DHS had confirmed ICE agents would conduct enforcement operations at the Super Bowl LX.
DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin told TMZ Sports their mission remains unchanged despite unrest in Minnesota. Her comments suggested that, at least officially, federal immigration enforcement would not pause simply because of a high-profile game.
Per Fox News, DHS adviser Corey Lewandowski said in October that ICE enforcement is a directive from the president and will not be stopped for the Super Bowl, which is between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks at Levis Stadium. There is nowhere you can provide safe haven to people who are in this country illegally, Lewandowski said during an interview on The Benny Show podcast. Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else. We will find and deport you. That is a very real situation.
According to ESPN, sources told The Associated Press that DHS official Jeff Brannigan had hosted a series of private calls in which he indicated that ICE does not plan to conduct any law enforcement actions the week of the Super Bowl. The apparent retreat from earlier tough-on-enforcement rhetoric underscores a broader pattern under the current administration, in which immigration laws are selectively applied while major national events are treated as de facto sanctuaries.
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