Sao Paulo beefs up security for Brazil's 1st ever NFL game as players raise crime concerns

SAO PAULO (AP) — Sao Paulo state's government said it will deploy hundreds of police officers and provide escorts for team buses for Friday's NFL game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers after some players expressed concern about playing in Brazil.

Security operations for the game in Sao Paulo’s NeoQuimica Arena will be coordinated with U.S. authorities, the state’s public security secretariat said in a statement Wednesday. Gun violence and crime rates in Brazil are among the highest in the Latin America. Metropolitan Sao Paulo has also faced a wave of cellphone thefts.

Hundreds of civilian and military police will be deployed for the game, the first NFL match to be played in the South American country, according to the statement. Military police will be used to escort the teams' buses to their hotels, training grounds and to the stadium.

“Our policing will be beefed up during the week to secure the public's safety for this historic match, with officers on the streets and avenues around the stadium, in public transportation, in the hotels and in tourist areas of the city,” the security secretariat said.

Earlier this week, Eagles cornerback Darius Slay said in a podcast he did not want to go to Brazil because of the country's crime rate. AJ Brown, a wide receiver of the same team, told said he will probably stay in his hotel room throughout his time in Sao Paulo. Other players expressed similar concerns.

On Saturday, San Francisco 49ers rookie receiver Ricky Pearsall was shot in the chest during an attempted robbery in central San Francisco.

Sao Paulo state's government said it will also send trained dogs to the stadium before the match to detect potential explosive devices that could put fans or players in danger. Helicopters and drones will also be used.

Sao Paulo police will have a station inside the stadium to support women who are victims of violence.

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Philadelphia Eagles players arrive at Sao Paulo International airport ahead of a game against the Philadelphia Eagles, in Guarulhos, greater Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

The Philadelphia Eagles' Dallas Goedert, left, and teammates arrive at Sao Paulo International airport in Guarulhos, greater Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

The Philadelphia Eagles' A.J. Brown arrives at Sao Paulo International airport ahead of a game against the Philadelphia Eagles, in Guarulhos, great Sao Paulo area, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

The Green Bay Packers' Jayden Reed poses for a selfie with a fan upon arriving at Sao Paulo International airport ahead of a game against the Philadelphia Eagles, in Guarulhos, greater Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Green Bay Packers' Christian Watson, center, arrives at Sao Paulo International airport ahead of a game against the Philadelphia Eagles, in Guarulhos, great Sao Paulo area, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

The Green Bay Packers' Romeo Doubs arrives at Sao Paulo International airport ahead of a game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Guarulhos, greater Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

The Green Bay Packers' Jordan Morgan arrives at Sao Paulo International airport ahead of a game against the Philadelphia Eagles, in Guarulhos, greater Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

The Green Bay Packers' Josh Jacobs, center, and teammates arrive at Sao Paulo International airport ahead of a game against the Philadelphia Eagles, in Guarulhos, greater Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts arrives at Sao Paulo International airport ahead of a game against the Philadelphia Eagles, in Guarulhos, greater Sao Paulo, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

A policeman stands guard during the arrival of the Green Bay Packers at Sao Paulo International airport ahead of a game against the Philadelphia Eagles, in Guarulhos, greater Sao Paulo, Brazil Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Philadelphia Eagles players arrive at Sao Paulo International airport ahead of a game against the Philadelphia Eagles, in Guarulhos, greater Sao Paulo, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday said the Trump administration must facilitate the return of a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to prison in El Salvador, rejecting the administration’s emergency appeal.

The court acted in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen who had an immigration court order preventing his deportation to his native country over fears he would face persecution from local gangs.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis had ordered Abrego Garcia, now being held in a notorious Salvadoran prison, returned to the United States by midnight Monday.

“The order properly requires the Government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador,” the court said in an unsigned order with no noted dissents.

Chief Justice John Roberts had already pushed back Xinis' deadline, and the justices said that her order must now be clarified to make sure it doesn’t intrude into executive branch power over foreign affairs, since Abrego Garcia is being held abroad. The court said the Trump administration should also be prepared to share what steps it has taken to try and get him back — and what more it could potentially do.

The administration claims Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang, though he has never been charged with or convicted of a crime. His attorneys said there is no evidence he was in MS-13.

The administration has conceded that it made a mistake in sending him to El Salvador, but argued that it no longer could do anything about it.

The court’s liberal justices said the administration should have hastened to correct “its egregious error” and was “plainly wrong” to suggest it could not bring him home.

“The Government’s argument, moreover, implies that it could deport and incarcerate any person, including U. S. citizens, without legal consequence, so long as it does so before a court can intervene,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote, joined by her two colleagues.

In the district court, Xinis wrote that the decision to arrest Abrego Garcia and send him to El Salvador appears to be “wholly lawless.” There is little to no evidence to support a “vague, uncorroborated” allegation that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was once in the MS-13 street gang, Xinis wrote.

Abrego Garcia, 29, was detained by immigration agents and deported last month.

He had a permit from the Homeland Security Department to legally work in the U.S. and was a sheet metal apprentice pursuing a journeyman license, his attorney said. His wife is a U.S. citizen.

In 2019, an immigration judge barred the U.S. from deporting Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, finding that he faced likely persecution by local gangs.

A Justice Department lawyer conceded in a court hearing that Abrego Garcia should not have been deported. Attorney General Pam Bondi later removed the lawyer, Erez Reuveni, from the case and placed him on leave.

Associated Press writer Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this report.

Jennifer Vasquez Sura, the wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia of Maryland, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, speaks during a news conference at CASA's Multicultural Center in Hyattsville, Md., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)