A group named “Contra-Ice” has been distributing the placards bearing the slogan “ICE OUT” for spectators to wave during the match.

The activists assembled near the Hilton Santa Clara Hotel on Sunday morning, located just five minutes from Levi’s Stadium.

One, 81-year-old sociologist David Tobis, compared Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown to the Third Reich.

“Ice is killing people. Ice is a military force like the storm troopers in Nazi Germany,” he raged.

“They’re thugs, they’re shooting people who are demonstrating and using their freedom of speech. That’s what people want, freedom of speech, and Trump doesn’t want that, because people are opposed to him.

“He didn’t come to the Super Bowl because he’s afraid of being booed. He knows this is a cross-section of America, and America does not like Trump. It’s his power that’s keeping him in office.”

|

REUTERS

Lead protest organiser Shasti Conrad said the group drew inspiration from Bad Bunny’s Grammy Awards appearance last weekend, where the Puerto Rican artist declared “Ice out” after winning album of the year.

“The Super Bowl is one of the most powerful cultural moments in the country, where music, competition, and identity all collide,” Ms Conrad said.

“We’ve seen at the Golden Globes and the Grammys how artists like Bad Bunny are using these stages to say something bigger about who we are and what we stand for.”

“This action builds on that momentum. Culture often leads politics, and moments like this show how people are using joy, creativity, and visibility to push back against Ice and demand a country that truly lives up to its promise to welcome immigrants,” she continued.

Another protester outside the venue, hosting the climax of the NFL season between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots, bore a t-shirt bearing the message “leave your Maga husband”.

|

GETTY

The Puerto Rican rapper, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, was seen holding a football emblazoned with the words “together we make America” as he marched with dancers carrying Caribbean and South American flags.

But at a press conference in San Francisco earlier this week, he avoided questions about the backlash from Mr Trump’s supporters.

“The world is going to be happy this Sunday, (as well as) the whole country,” he said.

“There’s a lot of people that love me around the world, not just the Latino people.”

Bad Bunny expressed his pride at performing on what he called “the biggest stage in the world,” encouraging people to embrace their heritage without limitation.

|

CHANNEL 5

Mr Trump has criticised the choice of Bad Bunny and Green Day as performers, warning they will “sow hatred.”

The President is not attending the California event, despite making history last year as the first sitting President to attend a Super Bowl when the game took place in New Orleans.

Green Day, performing in the pre-game show, have previously clashed with the administration, with frontman Billie Joe Armstrong altering lyrics to “American Idiot” to include “I’m not part of a Maga agenda.”

| GETTY

Conservative organisation Turning Point USA has arranged a rival “All-American Halftime Show” featuring Kid Rock as an alternative.

And despite the mass towel protest, some outside the stadium appeared unconvinced.

Joe, a 48‑year‑old church minister, said he believed border controls were essential.

“If you want to come in peaceably and work through the system… it’s beautiful,” he said. “But if you want to sneak in and go through back channels… then what are we doing?”