United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will be part of the security detail for the country’s dignitaries at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics beginning next week in Italy, though the Department of Homeland Security said the agency would not be involved in immigration operations there.
“Obviously, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries,” Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary for Homeland Security, said in a statement Tuesday. “At the Olympics, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations is supporting the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and host nation to vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organizations.
“All security operations remain under Italian authority.”
McLaughlin did not respond to a follow-up question asking how many ICE agents would be present in Italy.
News of ICE’s role during the Olympics comes amid mass protests in Minneapolis over immigration crackdowns in the city. The protests have garnered worldwide attention in the wake of the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, two American citizens shot by federal agents amid the unrest.
Before news of ICE’s involvement at the Games was confirmed, Milan mayor Giuseppe Sala told RTL Radio 102 that ICE would not be welcome in the city, which is hosting several events during the Winter Games from Feb. 6-22.
“This is a militia that kills, a militia that enters into the homes of people, signing their own permission slips. It is clear they are not welcome in Milan, without a doubt,” Sala said in Italian.
Earlier, Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani told Rai News in Italy that the ICE agents being sent to the country belong to a specific counterterrorism unit.
“Either you know what you’re talking about or it becomes emotional, but it’s not like they’re the ones on the streets of Minneapolis,” he said, according to a translation of his comments. “I’ve been the toughest of all in Italy on this, but it’s not like the SS are coming.”
Tajani said: “So the problem isn’t that those with machine guns and their faces covered are coming, it’s officials from a specific unit. They’re coming because it’s the unit responsible for counterterrorism.”
Italian interior minister Matteo Piantedosi said Saturday that he had not received confirmation of ICE’s deployment, but said, “I don’t see what the problem would be,” according to the Italian news agency ANSA.
Sala disagreed with those sentiments.
“I am quite surprised by Minister Piantedosi’s attitude,” Sala told Italpress on Tuesday. “First, he says there is a problem, then he says we are arguing about nothing. No, it is not nothing. As the mayor of Milan and an Italian citizen, I really do not want this private police force to come to Milan.”
The White House said in a statement reported by The AP this month that the U.S. governmental delegation attending the Feb. 6 opening ceremony is expected to be led by Vice President JD Vance, with second lady Usha Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio also attending. President Donald Trump is not expected to attend.
— The Athletic’s Denny Alfonso contributed to this report.