With the Bay Area bracing for a crush of visitors for the 2026 Super Bowl and FIFA World Cup, San Jose officials say they are racing to shield immigrant residents from stepped-up federal immigration enforcement. City leaders told a crowd this week that they are drafting local protections and lining up legal and community resources in case enforcement activity spikes. For many residents, the plans are meant to ease fear even as the city gears up for the economic windfall the events are expected to bring.
At a city-sponsored forum Monday night, District 5 Councilmember Peter Ortiz said he had “personally authored a memo to implement ICE-free zones so that ICE cannot do stagings and operations on city and other properties,” and that he has pushed for $1.5 million to be set aside for immigration defense, according to ABC7 San Francisco.
The City Council has already advanced related measures that would require law enforcement officers to remove face coverings that obscure their identity and direct staff to inventory and limit city-owned properties that could be used as federal staging areas. The package was modeled on Chicago’s recent policies and coordinated with a parallel move by Santa Clara County, KQED reports.
How the rules would work
City staff have been instructed to flag parking lots, garages, vacant parcels and other spaces that could be used for federal staging, and to consider signage and barriers to discourage that use. City Attorney Nora Frimann cautioned the council that “there are some city properties that are open to the public, and we really cannot impede enforcement efforts in those areas that are public,” a reminder of the legal limits that could eventually be tested in court, according to KQED.
Businesses prepping while residents worry
Dozens of small business owners from San Jose’s east side showed up at the city event looking for ways to tap into the Super Bowl crowds, but immigration worries kept cutting through the talk of tourism and revenue. Jennifer Baker of the city’s Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs told attendees the goal is for visitors to experience “our great community, our businesses and the diversity that makes us unique,” as reported by ABC7 San Francisco.
Games put Santa Clara in the spotlight
The Super Bowl is set for February 8, 2026, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, and the same venue is scheduled to host multiple FIFA World Cup matches the following summer. City leaders say that the packed calendar is driving the stepped-up planning. The stadium and host committee have gone public with the game date and scale of operations, and published match schedules confirm several World Cup games at the San Francisco Bay Area venue, according to CBS San Francisco.
Legal questions and next steps
Immigrant advocates say the measures are urgently needed, but attorneys and some federal officials have pointed out that cities have limited power to dictate how federal agencies operate, so legal challenges or federal pushback remain very real possibilities. Local leaders say they are working with county partners and nonprofit legal groups to provide rapid assistance if enforcement increases, a strategy that has tracked the city’s related steps and regional coordination, per Hoodline.
City officials say planning will continue in the coming weeks, and that formal proposals are expected to return to the council as event operations are finalized. Residents and business owners told reporters they will be watching closely to see how San Jose walks the line between public safety, legal risk and economic opportunity as the region prepares for an unusually busy 2026.
