ICE presence at Super Bowl stokes controversy ahead of Bad Bunny halftime show

Political speculation has led to a political firestorm just days after the NFL announced Bad Bunny as its 2026 halftime performer, with Trump administration officials threatening to have Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents present at the event.

The announcement directly confronts the Puerto Rican superstar's stated reason for excluding the U.S. from his current tour—fear of ICE raids at his concerts.

Corey Lewandowski, the senior advisor to the Secretary of Homeland Security, has announced on one of the conservative podcasts that “there is nowhere that you can provide a haven to people who are in this country illegally. Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else.”

His pledge was to have this enforced on a large scale, and anyone found in the country illegally would be arrested and deported.

This position was affirmed by the Department of Homeland Security, which claimed to have no haven for violent criminal illegal aliens.

The agency, however, failed to define the operational specifics of the planned ICE presence at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

The confrontation increased as Lewandowski said that it was “shameful” of the NFL to have selected Bad Bunny because the musician “seems to hate America so much.”

This is a sharp contrast to the statement of the Bay Area Host Committee, which rejoiced about the selection, perceiving it as an expression of the region's diversity and its unique spirit.

As a three-time Grammy-winner, Bad Bunny has not been shy about speaking out about ICE raids.

He previously explained why he missed U.S. tour dates, saying, “f---ing ICE could be outside (my concert), and it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”

His Super Bowl appearance, planned for February 8, 2026, will become both a cultural flashpoint and an occasion to integrate the world's entertainment with a polarising argument around immigration issues in the nation.