Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has stated that only American citizens should be allowed to attend next year’s Super Bowl, warning that ICE agents “will be all over” the event to ensure security and compliance with immigration laws.
During an appearance on right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson’s show on Friday, Noem also criticized the NFL’s decision to select Bad Bunny — the Puerto Rican rapper known for speaking out against the Trump administration’s immigration policies — as the Super Bowl halftime performer.
Asked directly whether “there will be Ice enforcement at the Super Bowl,” Noem responded: “There will be, because the Department of Homeland Security is responsible for keeping it safe, so I have the responsibility for making sure everybody goes to the Super Bowl, has the opportunity to enjoy it and to leave, and that’s what America is about.”
BREAKING: DHS Secretary Kristi Noem CONFIRMS that ICE will be at the Super Bowl and enforcing at the Bad Bunny Halftime Show.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 3, 2025
“We’ll be all over that place. We are going to enforce the law. You shouldn’t be coming to the Super Bowl unless you are a law abiding American citizen.”… pic.twitter.com/r4GbYd4CZZ
She continued, “So yeah, we’ll be all over that place … We’re going to enforce the law. So I think people should not be coming to the Super Bowl unless they’re law-abiding Americans who love this country.”
Bad Bunny was officially announced as the headliner for the Super Bowl halftime show last week. In September, the artist said he deliberately left the U.S. off his upcoming world tour due to concerns about immigration enforcement at his concerts.
“There was the issue of – like, fucking Ice could be outside [my concert],” he told i-D magazine. “And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”
The choice of Bad Bunny, who primarily performs in Spanish, has sparked backlash from several conservatives, with Johnson himself complaining that the performer has “no songs in English.”
When asked about the NFL’s decision, Noem fired back sharply: “Well, they suck, and we’ll win, and God will bless us, and we’ll stand and be proud of ourselves at the end of the day, and they won’t be able to sleep at night, because they don’t know what they believe, and they’re so weak, we’ll fix it.”
However, Noem’s assertion that ICE agents would be “all over” the Super Bowl appears to conflict with the White House’s official position.
On Friday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified to reporters: “As far as Ice being at the Super Bowl, as far as I’m aware there’s no tangible plan for that in store right now.”
She added, “However, of course this administration is always going to arrest and deport illegal immigrants when we find them if they are criminals. We’re going to do the right thing by our country.”
Noem’s remarks come amid growing political debate over immigration enforcement and cultural representation, with the Super Bowl now caught in the middle of a larger ideological clash between the Trump administration and the entertainment industry.
