NEW YORK: A Trump administration official has threatened immigration sweeps at next year’s Super Bowl following the announcement that Puerto Rican megastar Bad Bunny will headline the halftime show.
Corey Lewandowski, an advisor to Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem, stated there would be no safe haven for undocumented immigrants anywhere in the United States.
“We will find you. We will apprehend you. We will put you in a detention facility, and we will deport you,“ he declared during a podcast with conservative influencer Benny Johnson.
President Donald Trump began his immigration crackdown after returning to power in January, vowing to deport millions of undocumented people living in the US.
Bad Bunny recently revealed his worldwide tour was skipping the United States over fears that immigration officials would target his concerts.
Lewandowski emphasised that immigration enforcement would occur everywhere regardless of the event or performer.
“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, because we’re going to make Americans safe,“ he stated.
Like many other Trump officials, Lewandowski criticised the NFL as “woke” for choosing Bad Bunny to headline the halftime show of the American football showpiece next February.
The Super Bowl halftime performance routinely draws audiences of more than 100 million viewers worldwide.
“It’s so shameful that they’ve decided to pick somebody who just seems to hate America so much,“ Lewandowski added about Bad Bunny’s selection.
Super Bowl halftime shows have traditionally attracted the biggest names in music, with past performers including Michael Jackson, the Rolling Stones and Madonna.
Trump’s loyal Make America Great Again movement is particularly furious about Bad Bunny’s selection for 2026 given that he almost exclusively performs in Spanish.
Bad Bunny is also out of favor with Trump supporters as he supported Trump’s presidential rival Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. – AFP
