U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is set to have a presence at Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California, next month, but the county sheriff made clear he won’t have the agency’s back.

Santa Clara County Sheriff Bob Jonsen said Thursday that while authorities are there for the residents and tourists who will be coming into town for the game between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots, the department will not be working to support ICE agents in any immigration enforcement operations.

“So, I urge our federal partners, if there’s something that you’re planning to do in our community, please, please be transparent and reach out to your local officials so we can work as best we can,” Jonsen said at a news conference.

“It was mentioned we are not going to change our policies or protocols. We will not be working or supporting ICE Immigration Enforcement, but I want you, again, remember, if you see us out there, we’re there to help you and we will be there. Don’t hesitate to contact someone wearing a uniform as these events unfold if they’re walking around trying to engage and make sure you remain safe.”

In the same breath, Jonsen said local law enforcement will be on hand to keep residents safe.

“We are going to be here for you, side-by-side. So, as you’re getting off those trains, you’re getting off those buses, yeah, high probability you’re going to see somebody in uniform. But if they’re not masked, if they’re wearing tan and green or blue and black, trust me, they’re there for your protection. They’re there for your protection.

ICE OFFICIALS TO PLAY SECURITY ROLE AT MILAN CORTINA OLYMPICS

“If they’re masked and they’re trying to hide their identity, then somebody hasn’t communicated with us because we’ve made it very clear to our officers, our workforce is to be open and transparent and engaged in this community for the next few weeks and that is also our goal each and everyday. We’ve spent decades building this community, building that trust. I’ve had conversations with many … over the past year trying to give you as much information as we can about what we know is gonna happen and when it’s gonna happen and if it’s gonna happen but without that communication we can’t.”

Fox News Digital reached out to ICE for comment.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin Yoho told TMZ earlier this week there will be agents conducting enforcement operations.

“DHS is committed to working with our local and federal partners to ensure the Super Bowl is safe for everyone involved, as we do with every major sporting event, including the World Cup,” she said. “Our mission remains unchanged.”

DHS adviser Corey Lewandowski said back in October that enforcement is a “directive from the president,” and will not be paused for the Super Bowl.

“There is nowhere you can provide safe haven to people who are in this country illegally,” Lewandowski said on “The Benny Show” podcast. “Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else. We will find and deport you. That is a very real situation.”

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President Donald Trump has said he will not be at the Super Bowl this year after being the first sitting president to attend one last year.

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On Thursday night, the Palisades High boys’ basketball team savored something it had not experienced since midway through last season: homecourt advantage.

Hosting a game inside their own gym for the first time in 388 days, the Dolphins did not let their fans or their classmates leave disappointed, beating Fairfax 75-28 to stay on track for their first outright league title in 30 years.

“It’s great to be back … it was cool,” junior center Julian Cunningham said. “We haven’t had a game here in over a year. There’s no way we were gonna lose. It was a great atmosphere and we beat ’em by 50, so that’s pretty good.”

Palisades’ boys had last taken their home floor for an official contest on Jan. 6, 2025 — one day before the Palisades fire broke out and dealt severe damage to their campus and community. First-year coach Jeff Bryant had to scramble to find someplace — anyplace — to practice for what would turn out to be 42 games.

“I never thought it would be this long,” Bryant admitted. “When the fire happened, I was thinking we’d have some access to our gym in the summer. I remember at a parent meeting saying we’ll 100% be playing our league games at home. When the new [school year] started we were told September, then October, then November, then the start of the second semester. It kept getting pushed back.”

The team held its first practice at Palisades on Monday and students returned to campus Tuesday morning after attending classes for nine months at what came to be known as “PaliHi South,” the old Sears department store building in nearby Santa Monica.

“UCLA, Memorial Park, Paul Revere, St. Bernard …” Bryant said, rattling off just a few of the sites his team practiced at while waiting for the green light to return to campus. “We’ve been road warriors for over a year now and I definitely think it’s been an advantage, but now we’re looking forward to being home and we’re going to feed off that energy starting tonight.”

Pacing the Dolphins on Thursday were 6-6 junior twins OJ and EJ Popoola, who got the home crowd cheering by combining for six dunks. They were raised in Las Vegas and transferred to Palisades in June. Two of the most highly touted prospects in the 2027 class, the brothers shined in their first game at their new school, scoring 19 and 16 points, respectively.

“It was amazing — I’ve been thinking about this game for so long,” said OJ, who had 10 points in the first quarter as Palisades stormed to a 45-14 halftime lead. “Even though we weren’t here last year, we feel like it’s our community too. EJ and I have been playing with each other for so long and I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

EJ Popoola is averaging 21 points per game, OJ Popoola is averaging 18 and junior Jack Levey, the most outstanding player in the Western League last winter, is the section’s most dangerous long-range shooter, averaging 45% from beyond the arc.

Another reason Palisades is one of the favorites to win the Open Division is the all-around play of freshman guard Phillip Reed, who is averaging 17 points, six assists and six rebounds.

“It felt surreal — I was really nervous,” EJ Popoola added. “The energy was there, the fans showed up and we’re finally finding our rhythm as a team. It’s a work in progress, but me and OJ have been through it all together and I thank God I’m a twin!”

OJ Popoola soars for one of his two dunks in the Dolphins’ first home game since the Palisades fire.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

AJ Neale scored 13 points and Reed added 10 for the Dolphins, who scored 10 seconds into the contest on Levey’s alley-oop to EJ Popoola and never trailed.

Guards Kameron Augustin and Jomari Marshall scored seven apiece for the Lions (15-8, 5-2).

Palisades went 12-7 in its last 19 games of 2024-25, falling to Chatsworth in the City Section Open Division semifinals before reaching the Division III regional semifinals (hosting three games at Birmingham High in Lake Balboa). The Dolphins are off to a 13-11 start in 2025-26 while playing the toughest schedule of any team in the City. They have grown accustomed to playing in hostile environments and hope their “us against the world” mentality works in their favor once the playoffs start.

Thursday’s win kept the Dolphins alone atop the Western League standings at 8-0, 2½ games ahead of Fairfax with only four left. If Palisades seals the deal, it will mark the program’s first league crown since it finished in a three-way tie for first place with Westchester and Fairfax in 2011-12 under then coach James Paleno.

What a difference a year makes. Westchester, which beat Palisades twice on its way to winning league and capturing the City Open Division title last February, is fifth in league at 4-5 and lost its first meeting with Palisades by 38 points.

“The environment was amazing and I was a little stiff on my shots for the first 20 minutes or so, but after that I was feeling it,” said Levey, who swished two of his team’s 10 three-pointers. “This was personal. We can’t lose our first game back. Winning City is the standard, but [state] is what we really want to win.”

Palisades High’s Phil Reed makes a layup against Fairfax in the first half Thursday.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

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Palisades lost 10 of its first 13 games, including six straight while several key players recovered from injuries — but Bryant never lost faith. “That losing streak strengthened us,” he said. “I could’ve lost the team. Instead, guys stuck to the plan. Now we’re trending in the right direction. We haven’t played our best game yet. Our biggest challenge is what’s next.”

Through this ordeal, Bryant has learned patience and perseverance.

“The hardest part has been communicating with the parents,” Bryant said. “You have to go with the flow. They want answers and sometimes you honestly don’t know. When games are canceled, it hurts the younger kids most because lower-level games aren’t going to be made up. So they really miss out.”

The Popoola twins are motivated to lead Palisades to its first undisputed league championship since their father, Chris, helped the Dolphins to a third consecutive Western League title in 1995-1996. One of Popoola’s teammates that year was Donzell Hayes, who piloted the program from 2016-23 and attended Thursday’s game.

Palisades is chasing its third City title and first since winning Division I in 2020. Chris Marlowe, who captained the USA volleyball team to the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics, led the Dolphins to a 21-1 record and the City Section basketball championship in 1969, beating Reseda in the final at Pauley Pavilion under the program’s first coach, Jerry Marvin.

Jack Levey celebrates a big win in the Dolphins’ return to their home court against Western League rival Fairfax.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Iran is seeking to execute a decorated Iranian wrestler for merely peacefully protesting against the regime in early January, prompting the U.S. State Department on Wednesday to demand that Tehran overturn the death penalty for 19-year-old Saleh Mohammadi.  

Wrestling is a national pastime in Iran and a sport liked by President Donald Trump, who sought to save the life of champion Iranian Greco-Roman wrestler Navid Afkari in 2020. The clerical regime in Iran executed Afkari for his 2018 role in a demonstration against the economic and political corruption of the theocratic state.

According to the official X account for the State Department in Farsi, a post on Wednesday read: “The United States is deeply concerned by reports that 19-year-old wrestling champion Saleh Mohammadi is facing imminent execution. The regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran is massacring young people and destroying Iran’s future. We call on the Iranian regime to halt the execution of Saleh Mohammadi and all those sentenced to death for exercising their fundamental rights.  #SalehMohammadi #StopExecutionsInIran #HumanRights #IranProtest.”

The Iranian American, Sardar Pashaei, who won a Greco-Roman wrestling world championship title for Iran and coached the country’s elite Greco-Roman team, told Fox News Digital, “In less than 10 days, the Iranian regime shot dead more than 30 athletes across the country. The youngest was just 15 years old. The victims included youth athletes, national champions, coaches and international referees. Every one of them was killed by gunfire.”

IRAN ACCUSED OF SEX ASSAULTS ON TEENAGE PRISONERS, WHILE FAMILIES CHARGED TO RECOVER REMAINS OF LOVED ONES

He added that his organization, Hiwa, “has documented only confirmed cases. Many more athletes remain missing, imprisoned, or at risk of torture and execution, while families across Iran continue searching for loved ones with no answers or justice.” He praised the State Department’s actions in publicly calling for Saleh Mohammadi’s release.

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Pashaei continued, “A regime that jails, tortures and murders its own athletes has no place in the international sporting community. Sport must never be used to whitewash blood. Hiwa is preparing an official letter demanding that the International Olympic Committee and United World Wrestling suspend and ban Iran from all international competitions.”

Security forces for the Islamic Republic seized Olympic wrestler Alireza Nejati, who has won medals in world championships, after he posted a social media message to his more than 78,000 Instagram followers. The regime imprisoned Nejati and reportedly tortured him.

“I wish everyone a beautiful weekend full of success and good vibes,” the 27-year-old Greco-Roman wrestling champion wrote on Jan. 7. He concluded his message with, “This is the end.”

Fox News Digital sent email press queries and conducted telephone calls to the UWW.

An IOC spokesperson told Fox News Digital that, “Sadly, today’s world is divided and full of conflicts and tragedies. The IOC cares deeply about the situation of athletes all around the globe and is concerned every time it learns of individual cases of mistreatment. At this moment in time, we are particularly concerned about the situation of Iranian athletes impacted by the events unfolding in their country – as we are with all athletes who face conflict and tragedies elsewhere in the world. Unfortunately, these situations are more regularly brought to our attention due to the increasingly divided world in which we live.”

The spokesperson continued, “The IOC is a sports organization whose remit and success is based on bringing the world together in peaceful competition. We have to be realistic about the IOC’s ability to directly influence global and national affairs. At the same time, we will continue to work with our Olympic stakeholders to help where we can, often through quiet sport diplomacy. The IOC remains in touch with the Olympic community from Iran.”

IRAN TO EXECUTE 2ND WRESTLER, SPARKING OUTRAGE FROM US STATE DEPARTMENT

Foreign Desk editor-in-chief, Lisa Daftari, who is a leading expert on Iran, told Fox News Digital, “Saleh Mohammadi is a 19‑year‑old athlete whose only ‘crime’ was to stand with his people, yet he now faces an imminent death sentence designed to make an example out of him and terrify an entire nation. His imminent execution would not be justice, it would be a warning shot at every young Iranian who dares dream of freedom — and the world’s response will show protesters whether they are truly alone or not.”

She added, “By threatening to kill its youth — its athletes, artists, musicians and brightest minds — the regime is making clear that it does not see the Iranian people as its future, but as a threat to be silenced.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to the U.S. State Department for a comment.