In Santa Clara, California, where nearly half of residents are born outside US, fear builds as game approaches
This weekend, tens of thousands of people will make their way to the Bay Area city of Santa Clara, ready to celebrate a weekend at the Super Bowl.
Beneath the jubilant mood, some residents and officials have been grappling with the possibility of ICE enforcement operations during the game, and taking steps to prepare.
Both Kristi Noem, the Department of Homeland Security secretary, and her adviser Corey Lewandowski announced in the fall that agents would conduct operations during the nation’s largest sporting event. While Homeland Security Investigations teams that are focused on preventing human trafficking and the sale of counterfeit goods have long worked the event, immigration operations would be unusual.
In the city of Santa Clara, where nearly half of residents were born outside the US, fear was building as the game approached, said Lisa Gillmor, the mayor.
