When Ignorance Masquerades As Law Enforcement: Kristi Noem’s Attack on Bad Bunny

By Felicia J. Persaud

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Sat. Oct. 18, 2025: The U.S. Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem – yes, the same self-confessed puppy and goat killer – is at it again, this time proving that ignorance and authority make a dangerous mix with her attacks on Bad Bunny.

FLASHBACK – Bad Bunny performs onstage during Night One of Bad Bunny: “No Me Quiero Ir De Aqui” Residencia En El Choli at Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot on July 11, 2025 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)

Noem is now slamming the NFL over its announcement that Puerto Rican-born superstar Bad Bunny will headline the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show. Her outrage? Seems that the NFL should have checked with her and Donald Trump first before hiring the halftime entertainer – and of course it would have been better if he was Kid Rock or as Speaker Mike Johnson suggested – Lee Greenwood, the 82-year-old country singer famous for “God Bless the U.S.A.”

How dare the organization hire a Latino man, who happens to be an American citizen born in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico?

“They suck, and we’ll win… and they won’t be able to sleep at night because they don’t know what they believe, and they’re so weak,” Noem audaciously told conservative commentator Benny Johnson.

She then declared that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents would be “all over the Super Bowl.”

“We are going to enforce the law,” she added, suggesting that only “law-abiding Americans who love this country” should attend” the game.

Excuse me, Madam Secretary – Puerto Ricans are Americans last time I checked and have been since 1917. They hold U.S. passports, pay federal taxes, can vote for president if they are registered to vote and reside in any of the 50 States, and even serve in the U.S. military. The suggestion that Bad Bunny – or his fans – need ICE surveillance at a football game is not just ignorant; it’s racist and absurd.

And just to be clear – which “undocumented immigrants” exactly does she think are dropping seven grand on Super Bowl tickets?

According to The New York Times, hospitality packages for Super Bowl LX on February 8, 2026, at Levi’s Stadium start around $7,000 for nosebleed seats and soar to $20,000 or more for lower-level or club seating. Even resale platforms like SeatGeek and Vivid Seats are listing prices starting at about $6,800. Somehow, I doubt undocumented workers can muster that much money to attend.

Bad Bunny, in true form, has responded with humor, not hostility. During his Saturday Night Live monologue recently, he quipped that “everyone’s happy” about his halftime show – “even Fox News.”

The 31-year-old artist – who has never shied away from criticizing Trump-era immigration policies – spoke proudly in Spanish, dedicating his success to “all the Latinos and Latinas in the entire world and here in the United States.” Then he added in English, “If you didn’t understand what I just said, you have four months to learn.”

He’ll be the first Latino man and the first Puerto Rican-born American to headline the halftime show. As he put it, “Our mark and our contribution to this country will never be erased by anybody.”

So here we are – in a country where the Homeland Security Secretary threatens to sic ICE on an event because she does not agree with the performer and and top political leaders openly mock one of the world’s most successful Latino artists because they don’t “get” him.

Seems to me, the message is clear – it’s not white, it’s not right.

But Bad Bunny’s upcoming performance isn’t just about music. It’s about representation – a reminder that America’s story began brown and continues to be multicultural, multilingual and unmistakably diverse regardless of how many DEI initiatives are killed. No amount of ignorance masquerading as law enforcement can change that.

Felicia J. Persaud is the founder and publisher of NewsAmericasNow.com, the only daily newswire and digital platform dedicated exclusively to Caribbean Diaspora and Black immigrant news across the Americas.