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Silicon Valley community and government leaders gathered to denounce the expected arrival of federal U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in the Bay Area during the upcoming Super Bowl.
More than 100 Santa Clara County residents attended the rally, where local leaders including San Jose Councilmembers Peter Ortiz and Pamela Campos spoke out against increased federal immigration enforcement across the U.S. Reports have been circulating about an increased ICE presence during Super Bowl 60, taking place Sunday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
“People in our community do not like to see injustice here or anywhere. We have a long history of standing up against it, especially in Santa Clara County and California,” Rebecca Armendariz, a member of the Rapid Response Network’s steering committee and an organizer for the rally, told San José Spotlight.
@sanjosespotlight Silicon Valley community and government leaders gathered to denounce the expected arrival of federal U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in the Bay Area during the upcoming Super Bowl. More than 100 Santa Clara County residents attended the rally, where local leaders including San Jose Councilmembers Peter Ortiz and Pamela Campos spoke out against increased federal immigration enforcement across the U.S. Reports have been circulating about an increased ICE presence during Super Bowl 60, taking place Sunday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. “People in our community do not like to see injustice here or anywhere. We have a long history of standing up against it, especially in Santa Clara County and California,” Rebecca Armendariz, a member of the Rapid Response Network’s steering committee and an organizer for the rally, told San José Spotlight. Read more at SanJoseSpotlight.com #ICE #immigration #superbowl #SanJose #bayarea
Though officials from the NFL and Department of Homeland Security say ICE won’t be present at the Super Bowl, others expect dozens of ICE agents to be deployed to Levi’s Stadium and its surrounding areas. As the event approaches, Armendariz said the network of volunteers documenting ICE activity and providing free emergency legal support for immigrants has been expanding, with dozens of people signing up to help every day.
Rally attendees marched from Plaza de Cesar Chavez to the front of San Jose Civic. Across the street at San Jose McEnery Convention Center, football fans were already lining up for the Super Bowl opening night event.
A handful of speakers took center stage at the rally, voices booming between the passing VTA light rail trains. Raj Jayadev, co-founder of social justice group Silicon Valley De-Bug, read a statement from the NFL Player’s Coalition, written by former players Malcolm Jenkins and Anquan Boldin. They wrote that the coalition stands in solidarity and agreement there should be no ICE officers at the game.
“As former NFL players and Super Bowl champions, we can not be quiet as the federal administration uses the pinnacle of our craft to be a trojan horse for ICE to run rampant in the Bay Area,” Jenkins and Boldin wrote.
NAACP of San Jose/Silicon Valley President Sean Allen highlighted the targeted racial violence behind the wave of federal immigration enforcement.
“The world will watch the Super Bowl, (and) the wealth in this city will be built on the bodies of brown and Black people,” Allen said at the rally. “You say to Santa Clara, you cannot profit from our culture on Sunday and be complicit while we are hunted like animals on Monday.”
While the community has been preparing a safety net for the football game, many have been looking toward local government for support. A group of local lawmakers spoke out against ICE action last month, and Ortiz spoke at the rally about various San Jose policies approved to protect residents’ rights, including an unmasking requirement for ICE agents.
He called on neighboring jurisdictions to pick up the pace — especially Santa Clara.
“San Jose is ready, we are showing up,” Ortiz said at the rally. “You got my word I will continue to fight and stand beside you, but it’s time for our surrounding cities to do their part. Cities like Santa Clara, where the Super Bowl is taking place. … We need to say which side are you on — the people or the federal administration?”
The Santa Clara City Council on Tuesday will discuss policies that would strengthen resident protections and restrict cooperation with federal immigration officers, including explicitly barring the Santa Clara Police Department from working with ICE.
Jayadev said the rally is an opportunity to show unity against federal immigration enforcement actions as the nation’s eyes turn toward Santa Clara County.
“We wanted to show our teeth early to the bully, to say to ICE and the federal administration, don’t even think about bringing that same habit that you’ve done to other cities, to San Jose,” Jayadev told San José Spotlight.
B. Sakura Cannestra is a freelance reporter who previously worked at San José Spotlight through the California Local News Fellowship. Contact her at [email protected] or @SakuCannestra on X.
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