By Hannah Dailey

Copyright billboard

Skip to main content

Bad Bunny at The 2025 Met Gala Celebrating “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 05, 2025 in New York, New York.

Michael Buckner for Penske Media

Trending on Billboard

Following the news that Bad Bunny will headline the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show, a core member of Donald Trump’s administration has warned that United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will be present at the game.

Bad Bunny to Headline 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show

Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Announcement & Live Residency Finale Result in Millions of Extra Streams

Residente Asks, Bad Bunny Answers: A Wide-Ranging Chat About Puerto Rican Identity, Acting & A ‘Surprise’ Musical Project

In a Wednesday (Oct. 1) appearance on “The Benny Show,” Corey Lewandowski — the president’s 2016 and 2024 campaign manager who now advises the Department of Homeland Security — was asked whether ICE will be on the ground at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, come Feb. 8, 2026.

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

“Know that is a very real situation under this administration, which is contrary to how it used to be,” he continued.

The remarks come just three days after it was announced that Benito would be performing at the Big Game next year, six years after he made his debut on the Super Bowl stage during Jennifer Lopez and Shakira’s headlining show. The news was particularly attention-grabbing as the rapper had previously decided not to perform in the United States while on tour due to concerns that immigration officers might target his audiences — something he referenced at the time of the announcement.

“I’ve been thinking about it these days, and after discussing it with my team, I think I’ll do just one date in the United States,” Bad Bunny wrote on X on Sunday (Sept. 28).

As for Lewandowski’s personal opinions about Roc Nation’s pick for the 2026 showcase, the conservative consultant isn’t a fan. “It’s so shameful they’ve decided to pick somebody who seems to hate America so much to represent them at the Halftime Show,” he said on “The Benny Show.”

“We should be trying to be inclusive, not exclusive,” Lewandowski added. “There are plenty of great bands and entertainment people who could be playing at that show that would be bringing people together and not separating them.”

It’s unclear where Lewandowski may have gotten the notion that Bad Bunny — who is from Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the U.S. — hates America. Even as he was explaining his reasons for not taking his Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour through the so-called Land of the Free in 2025-26, Benito specified in a September interview with I-D, “There were many reasons why I didn’t show up in the U.S., and none of them were out of hate.”

“I’ve performed there many times,” he continued at the time. “All of [the shows] have been successful. All of them have been magnificent. I’ve enjoyed connecting with Latinos who have been living in the U.S. … But there was the issue of, like, f–king ICE could be outside [my concert]. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”

Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox

Want to know what everyone in the music business is talking about?

Get in the know on

Visit Billboard Pro for music business news

Billboard is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2025 Billboard Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Powered by WordPress.com VIP

optional screen reader

Manage Account

Billboard Hot 100™

Billboard 200™

Hits Of The World™

Songs Of The Summer

Year-End Charts

Decade-End Charts

R&B/Hip-Hop

Business News

Record Labels

View All Pro

Songwriters & Producers

Artist Index

Royalty Calculator

Market Watch

Industry Events Calendar

Billboard Español

Cultura y Entretenimiento

Switching Stages

GET ACCESS TODAY