Bad Bunny left the U.S. off his world tour this year over concerns of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids by the current Trump Administration at his shows. However, now that the Latin rapper has been confirmed as the Super Bowl Halftime show performer, Trump officials are speaking out — and making it known that ICE will have a presence on game day.
Department of Homeland Security special advisor and former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski noted earlier this week on Benny Johnson’s podcast that there will definitely be ICE agents at the Super Bowl during Bad Bunny’s performance.
“There is nowhere you can provide safe haven to people who are in this country illegally,” Lewandowski said. “Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else. We will find you and apprehend you and put you in a detention facility and deport you. Know that is a very real situation under this administration, which is contrary to how it used to be.”
Lewandowski added: “If there are illegal aliens, I don’t care if it’s a concert for Johnny Smith or Bad Bunny or anybody else.”
“We’re going to do enforcement everywhere,” Lewandowski continued. “We are going to make Americans safe. That is a directive from the president. If you’re in this country illegally, go home.”
Bad Bunny has been very vocal about his distaste for ICE. In June, he posted a video to his Instagram story that appeared to be an ICE raid in Puerto Rico. In the clip, Bad Bunny said “they came here… sons of bitches, instead of leaving the people alone and working there.” He has also openly criticized the Trump administration for its handling of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.
When Bad Bunny was named the Super Bowl Halftime show performer, reactions were mixed. Roc Nation founder Jay-Z, who has partnered with the NFL to select halftime show performers, said that “we are honored to have [Bad Bunny] on the world’s biggest stage.”
Trump supporters, however, were not fond of the decision. Former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly complained of the NFL’s choice on her radio show, speculating that Bad Bunny might be transgender because he occasionally performs in dresses. She said the decision is a “middle finger to all of MAGA” and said Bad Bunny “hates the United States.”
Similarly, conservative commentator Britt Mayer said that the Super Bowl announcement is just an effort to “shove woke ideology down America’s throat,” calling Bad Bunny’s music “woke puke.”
Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, has become one of the most streamed musicians globally with hits like Un Verano Sin Ti, the first all-Spanish-language album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200. He has also expanded into acting, with roles in Bullet Train, Caught Stealing and Happy Gilmore 2, as well as collaborations with major fashion houses.
