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Santa Clara County residents are breathing a collective sigh of relief as fears of federal immigration enforcement during the Super Bowl never materialized.
While there was concern of increased U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in the South Bay stemming from claims by federal officials and a San Jose councilmember, fans on game day celebrated without any disruption. The Rapid Response Network, a group of volunteers who document ICE activity and provide emergency legal support, didn’t report any confirmed ICE action during the Super Bowl. The network sent 200 volunteers to patrol hot spots around Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
“If it continues to stay quiet, if everyone just gets to enjoy Super Bowl Sunday at home, with their family, with their friends and don’t feel terrorized, it’s a good day,” Huy Tran, executive director of Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network, which is part of the Rapid Response Network, told San José Spotlight.
Talk of potential ICE activity didn’t stop excited fans from traveling near and far to see their team win. Jane Yoo, 50, and her family traveled from Seattle, Washington to see the Seahawks play against the New England Patriots. Yoo said she felt relieved after hearing ICE wouldn’t be in town.
“What are they going to do with hundreds of thousands of people?” Yoo told San José Spotlight.
Days before the big game, Santa Clara County Sheriff Bob Jonsen said he had talked to Department of Homeland Security officials who said there was no planned immigration enforcement related to the Super Bowl.
Avery, a Patriots fan who came from Los Angeles to watch the Super Bowl, said he is scared of ICE — but that didn’t stop him from traveling to the South Bay. He declined to give his last name.
“The government is going to do what the government does,” he told San José Spotlight.
GY, a San Jose resident who declined to give his last name, was in Santa Clara to watch the pre-game and see the jets flying overhead. His parents flew in from China.
“It made me a little scared because it’s not about the law anymore,” he told San José Spotlight. “We are worried about it, but we don’t want it to affect our life.”
Multiple protests took place across the county in the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl and on the day of. Days before the game, the Santa Clara City Council passed a policy banning the use of city property, such as parking lots or open spaces, for immigration enforcement.
To prepare for the potential of increased ICE activity during the Super Bowl, the Rapid Response Network increased its outreach to businesses around the stadium. It also trained more than 1,000 new volunteers over the past several weeks, creating a countywide network of about 3,000 responders to spot ICE vehicles and report when immigration enforcement occurs.
The Super Bowl is just the first major sports event in the South Bay this year. The FIFA World Cup will also take place at Levi’s Stadium in June — and the Rapid Response Network is preparing to stand watch.
“The approach that we have taken since last year has always been — stay ready so we don’t have to get ready,” Tran said. “(The Super Bowl) is giving us a very solid game plan and framework for how we approach the World Cup games.”
This story was written by Joyce Chu for San José Spotlight. The original version of this article can be viewed here.
Contact Joyce Chu at jocye@sanjosespotlight.com or @joyce_speaks on X.
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