US Attorney Ro Khanna stood outside Levi’s Stadium on Sunday as thousands of football fans crowded inside the Santa Clara area.
The Congressman was not there to entertain his favorite party. You’ve been through to send a message: Federal immigration agents are not welcome at the Super Bowl.
“This is my district and this is the time for elected leaders to be out with the people,” said Khanna (D-Fremont). “I’ve contacted the NFL and management to get ICE to stop, but I think being here in the community makes a big difference.”
In a press conference earlier this month, NFL security chief Cathy Lanier said she hoped Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents would not be on duty at the Super Bowl. But Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem previously confirmed that ICE will be there.
“We’re going to be all over this place,” Benny Johnson, a right-wing broadcaster, told the BBC in October. “We will use the law.”
Khanna said his office was flooded with phone calls and emails as the mixed messages left many residents in fear. He kept his district office open on Sunday in case people were with ICE and needed help.
As of 2 p.m., there had been no reports.
Khanna was among 21 Democrats in Congress, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who sent a joint letter to Noem last week expressing opposition to the Super Bowl immigration attack.
“This should be a moment of celebration, unity, and economic opportunity, not a place of fear, isolation and violence,” the lawmakers wrote. “Having ICE at the Super Bowl will undermine public safety, disrupt communities, and threaten the peaceful enjoyment that this event should bring to the region and the nation.”
Khanna wasn’t the only one speaking out against ICE on Sunday.
Around 5:30 pm anti-ICE and anti-Trump protesters gathered across the street from the stadium and unfurled a large yellow banner with the words “Trump must go now.” They chanted a profanity-laced slogan and “Trump is on Epstein’s list.”
One woman, dressed as the Statue of Liberty, held a poster that read “Killing is Killing ICE.” One held a sign with pictures of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, two US citizens who were shot and killed by federal agents in Minnesota.
Before the game, activists Shasti Conrad and Michael Ceraso released rally towels with the words “ICE OUT” on one side and a picture of a rabbit kicking a ball covered in an ice cube on the other. Bunny was inspired by the late-night artist, Bad Bunny, who spoke out about the invasion of foreign managers, including at the Grammy Awards. Trump called Bad Bunny a “bad decision” for a short-term player.
“My heart told me not to do it,” said Ceraso, explaining that he felt called to speak for others who live in fear.
Conrad wasn’t sure how football fans would react, but he said most people welcomed the towel. “We got a lot of support,” he said, adding that thousands of towels were gone by afternoon.
Others use music to convey their message. At one point, a chant insulting Noem and serving as an anti-ICE chant that has been widely circulated on social media could be heard coming from the crowd gathered outside the stadium.
The Trump administration’s immigration raids, often carried out by masked agents in unmarked vehicles, have come under fire for anger, with some arguing that the tactics are unconstitutional — such as using children as a deterrent or breaking into homes without a warrant. Execution of Good again Pretti it sparked another fear and retreat.
