The 2026 Milan-Cortina Games are scheduled to open on February 6, but the event is already starting to be overshadowed by the role of US authorities.
Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. government agency assisting with security operations for the Italian Winter Olympics, was “unwelcome.”
The confirmation that a branch of ICE would help provide security for the Milan-Cortina games, which begin next week, sparked immediate outrage and a plea from Sarah.
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“This is a paramilitary group that kills people. … It’s clear that they are not welcome in Milan. There is no doubt about it. How can we say no to[US President Donald]Trump once and for all?” he said in an interview on RTL 102.5 radio.
Reports have been circulating for days that authorities often embroiled in brutal immigration crackdowns in the United States may be involved in American security measures for the Olympic Games, to be held in northern Italy from February 6 to 22.
In a statement issued to Agence France-Presse overnight, ICE said: “At the Olympics, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is assisting the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Diplomatic Security and the host nation in vetting and mitigating risks posed by transnational criminal organizations.
“All security operations remain under Italian authority.”
The Associated Press also quoted a source at the U.S. Embassy in Rome as saying federal immigration officials would assist with diplomatic security details but would not perform any immigration duties.
It is unclear whether HSI has been involved with the Olympics in the past or if this is their first time.
According to ICE’s website, HSI investigates global threats and the illegal movement of people, goods, money, contraband, weapons, and sensitive technology into, into, and through the United States.
ICE said its operations in Italy are separate from the immigration crackdown ordered by President Trump in the United States.
“Clearly, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries,” the department said.
The Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DSS) takes the lead in protecting U.S. citizens during the Olympic Games held overseas.
Anger over ICE’s immigration enforcement operations in the United States is shared by many in Italy after federal agents shot and killed two civilians in Minneapolis, in northern Minnesota, this month.
Alessandro Zan, a member of the European Parliament from Italy’s centre-left Democratic Party, called ICE “President Trump’s personal police” and condemned its deployment to Italy as “unacceptable”.
“In Italy, we do not want people who trample on human rights or act outside democratic control,” he wrote to X.
Italian authorities initially denied ICE’s existence, but later sought to downplay its role by suggesting that ICE only served to ensure the safety of the U.S. delegation.
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are scheduled to attend the opening ceremony in Milan on February 6th.
The president of the northern Lombardy region said Monday that ICE’s involvement would be limited to monitoring Vance and Rubio.
“He will only have a defensive role, but I’m sure nothing will happen,” Attilio Fontana told reporters.
But his office later issued a statement saying he had no specific information about ICE’s presence but was responding to hypothetical questions.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi was quoted as saying late Monday that “ICE itself will never operate in Italy.”
When contacted by AFP, the International Olympic Committee responded: “We would like to introduce you to the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, USOPC.”
Thousands of ICE agents have been deployed across the country to crack down on illegal immigration, which has also resulted in arrests of U.S. citizens and legal residents.
Their actions sparked widespread protests, and the killings of American citizens Renee Good and Alex Preti, both 37, on the streets of Minneapolis this month sparked outrage.
