Immigration policy and the politics of public safety collided in dramatic fashion this week, as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) found themselves at the center of two headline-grabbing controversies. Both incidents, which unfolded on October 2, 2025, have reignited fierce debate over the direction and tone of U.S. immigration enforcement—and the increasingly visible role of culture wars in shaping federal messaging.
First, in a move that stunned many in the sports and entertainment world, Corey Lewandowski, an adviser at DHS, confirmed that ICE would maintain a visible presence at the upcoming Super Bowl in Santa Clara, California. The agency’s involvement, Lewandowski asserted, is part of a broader strategy to ensure that “there is nowhere that you can provide safe haven to people who are in this country illegally, not the Super Bowl and nowhere else.” According to a statement provided to TMZ and cited by The New Republic, ICE intends to locate, apprehend, detain, and deport undocumented immigrants at the nation’s most-watched annual television event.
The rationale for this high-profile enforcement? Lewandowski pointed to the halftime show’s headliner, Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny, whose global popularity has brought Latin music to mainstream American audiences. “It’s so shameful that they’ve decided to pick somebody who just seems to hate America so much to represent them at the halftime game,” Lewandowski said during an interview with conservative podcaster Benny Johnson. He added, “We will find you, we will apprehend you, we will put you in a detention facility, and we will deport you.”
Bad Bunny, a three-time Grammy winner, has been open about his concerns regarding U.S. immigration enforcement. In an interview with i-D Magazine last month, he revealed that he would be skipping the American leg of his world tour out of fear of ICE attendance at his performances. The NFL’s announcement of his Super Bowl appearance, confirmed just days before Lewandowski’s remarks, surprised many of his U.S.-based fans.
Lewandowski’s comments also touched on the NFL’s recent history with player protests. “The NFL has been so woke for so many years, they finally decided to make a comeback. They finally had people stand up for our great national anthem,” he said, referencing the league’s 2018 ban on on-field protests during the anthem—a policy instituted after athletes protested police brutality. “I used to love watching NFL games.… When sports got into wokeness, I stopped doing it.”
The decision to deploy ICE at such a high-profile event, especially with a Latinx artist at center stage, has drawn sharp criticism from immigrant rights advocates and civil liberties groups. Many see the move as an attempt to intimidate immigrants and their communities, using the spectacle of the Super Bowl to send a political message about enforcement priorities under the current administration. Supporters of the policy, however, argue that strict enforcement is necessary to uphold the rule of law and maintain public safety, regardless of the event or its participants.
While the Super Bowl controversy was still unfolding, DHS found itself embroiled in a separate—and arguably more incendiary—debate over social media messaging. As reported by The New Republic, the department was accused of posting antisemitic dog-whistles in a recent online immigration campaign. The post in question featured the phrase, “'Communist?' DENIED. 'Terrorist?' DENIED. 'Globalist?' DENIED,” alongside an AI-generated image of a muscular, cartoonish man wearing a United States Citizenship and Immigration Services hat.
The use of the term “globalist” drew immediate condemnation from critics, who pointed out its history as a far-right conspiracy theory code word for alleged Jewish control of world events. Prominent liberal commentator Will Stancil did not mince words, writing, “This is a smirkingly antisemitic post about Jews, and everyone involved in its creation knows that, as well as the intended audience.” According to The New Republic, while some on the right have attempted to rebrand “globalist” as simply an alternative to “nationalist,” its original meaning—and the baggage it carries—remains potent, particularly in online spaces frequented by extremists.
What truly set social media ablaze, however, was the DHS account’s subsequent engagement with far-right users. Responding to memes popularized by “groypers”—followers of neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes—and images featuring Pepe the Frog (a symbol classified as hateful by the Anti-Defamation League), the official DHS account replied with apparent encouragement. To one user who posted, “Are you TRYING to recruit me Homeland Security Account? Because you have my attention,” the DHS account responded, “You know you want to!” In another exchange, the department urged a user with the screen name “RAW EGG NATIONALIST” to call the ICE tip line, after the user posted a meme referencing the “Based Department.”
These interactions led to a chorus of criticism, with many observers accusing the DHS Office of Public Affairs of courting or at least legitimizing far-right extremists. “It has never felt more clear that the DHS Office of Public Affairs is staffed with terminally online right-wing trolls,” wrote The New Republic’s Edith Olmsted, summarizing the growing unease about the department’s tone and digital strategy.
The fallout from both incidents has deepened existing political divides over immigration, public safety, and the role of government agencies in shaping national discourse. For some on the right, the Super Bowl enforcement and the department’s willingness to “own the libs” online are signs that the government is finally taking border security and American identity seriously. For many on the left—and for members of minority communities who feel targeted by these messages—these moves are further evidence of a hostile, exclusionary posture that risks normalizing hate and stoking division.
Meanwhile, the NFL finds itself in a familiar crossfire, caught between calls for inclusivity and the demands of a vocal segment of its audience that decries “wokeness.” The league’s decision to feature Bad Bunny, despite his public apprehension about ICE, is seen by some as a gesture of cultural openness. Others, however, echo Lewandowski’s criticism, viewing it as yet another sign that American traditions are under siege.
As the Super Bowl approaches, all eyes will be on Santa Clara—not just for the spectacle on the field and the halftime stage, but for what the event reveals about the nation’s ongoing struggle to define who belongs, who is welcome, and what it means to be American in 2025. The debates sparked by DHS and ICE this week are unlikely to fade soon, serving as a stark reminder of the power—and peril—of politics at the intersection of entertainment, enforcement, and identity.
In a country already riven by partisanship, these latest controversies underscore just how high the stakes have become in the battle over immigration and the symbols that shape national life.
