ICE Out! If his previous criticism against the Trump administration wasn’t enough, Bad Bunny staged what was a lengthy rebuttal at the Grammys on Sunday. A roar of applause was waiting for him on the other side that lasted a good 30 seconds before Bunny could get his vote of thanks in order. Naturally, with the Super Bowl right around the corner, where the rapper will be one of many to perform the halftime show, media questions around political statements were bound to emerge.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell fronted a calculated response, one that quietly silenced all such possibilities of a political demonstration that dared divide the room. Check it out for yourself:

“Bad Bunny is one of the great artists in the world. That’s one of the reasons we chose him,” Goodell said during the conference ahead of the Super Bowl. “The other reason is he understood the platform and that this platform is to bring people together with their creativity, with their talents, to be able to use this moment to do that.

“I think Bad Bunny understands that, and I think he’ll have a great performance.”

Goodell’s comments came against the backdrop of growing tension between Bad Bunny and the Trump administration amid the ongoing ICE controversy. The singer, who topped Spotify’s streaming charts in four of the past six years, has already taken a public stance on the issue. Earlier last year, the rapper said he deliberately avoided performing in the United States on his current world tour, citing concerns that ICE agents could conduct raids on fans attending his shows. That tension only intensified once the NFL announced Bad Bunny as the halftime performer.

Trump quickly dismissed the decision as “absolutely ridiculous” in October 2025. He later doubled down in January by confirming he would not attend the Patriots-Seahawks game. His reasoning was straightforward: he suggested that the venue was simply too far away, but in the same breath, he also mentioned that he was not a fan of either Bad Bunny or the American rock band Green Day, who are set to open the show.

Fast forward to the Grammy Awards, and the situation escalated further. Bad Bunny made history by becoming the first artist to win the award for an album entirely in Spanish. But the milestone moment also turned into a statement.

“Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say, ICE out. We’re not savage. We’re not animals. We’re not aliens. We are humans, and we are Americans. I know it’s tough to not hate these days. I was thinking, sometimes we get contaminados [contaminated]. The hate gets more powerful with more hate,” he said.

He ended his speech just as emphatically.

“So please, we need to be different if we fight, we have to do it with love. If, yeah, we don’t hate them. We love our people. We love our family, and that’s the way to do it. With love. Don’t forget that, please.”

Naturally, that speech sparked immediate questions about whether Bad Bunny would bring similar messaging to the Super Bowl stage. Goodell, however, does not expect that to happen. Here’s the thing, though: the league hasn’t always been in control of what happens during halftime. For instance, Super Bowl XLVI, when M.I.A. flipped off the crowd, was not approved by the NFL. Even the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction from years ago was not something they envisioned.

Somewhere, Goodell understands this. Perhaps that’s the reason the league has been trying to stay clear when the sport intersects with politics.

Meanwhile, the NFL has also stated that ICE will not be present at the Super Bowl, seemingly aiming to lower the tension around an already charged conversation.

The NFL has no plans to carry out immigration enforcement at the Super Bowl

The league’s Chief Security Officer, Cathy Lanier, finally addressed the rumors surrounding ICE’s presence at the Super Bowl.

“There are no planned ICE or immigration enforcement operations that are scheduled around the Super Bowl or any of the Super Bowl-related events,” she said in the conference ahead of the Super Bowl. “The federal presence here is consistent with past Super Bowls, and other sporting events like what you will see around the World Cup and the Olympics as well.”

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However, Lanier’s assurance appears to clash with earlier public statements made by officials from the Department of Homeland Security. In October 2025, DHS advisor Corey Lewandowski said on a podcast that the Super Bowl would not serve as a haven for individuals targeted by ICE.

“There is nowhere that you can provide safe haven to people who are in this country illegally,” Lewandowski said then. “Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else. We will find you. We will apprehend you. We will put you in a detention facility, and we will deport you.”

That stance stands in contrast to reporting from the Associated Press. The AP noted that DHS official Jeff Brannigan privately told local law enforcement and the NFL that ICE does not plan to conduct enforcement operations in or around the Super Bowl.

Despite that, DHS has yet to publicly confirm such a position. And with the Super Bowl now less than a week away, the lack of a unified message from federal officials has only added to the uncertainty. As tensions continue to simmer, clarity, or the absence of it, has become just as much a storyline as the game itself.