News that a unit of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would be present during the upcoming Milan Cortina Winter Games set off concern and confusion in Italy, where some people voiced outrage at the inclusion of an agency long associated with headlines about the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
The uncertainty centered on which part of ICE was involved. Homeland Security Investigations, a unit within ICE that focuses on cross-border crimes, is distinct from Enforcement and Removal Operations, the arm described as at the forefront of the immigration crackdown in the United States.
In Italy, local media reported Tuesday that an ICE deployment was expected, after vague reports surfaced over the weekend about ICE being present “in some capacity.” Those reports were followed by online petitions opposing ICE at the Games, and the attention sharpened after a RAI news report aired Sunday that showed an Italian news crew being threatened in Minneapolis by ICE agents.
Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said ICE would not be welcome in his city, which will host the Feb. 6 opening ceremony attended by U.S. Vice President JD Vance. In an interview with RTL Radio 102, Sala said: “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,”.
Italy’s Interior Ministry later clarified the role of the planned ICE presence. It said the HSI investigators would be stationed at a control room at the U.S. Consulate in Milan, operating in a support role with other U.S. law enforcement agencies, and that they would not include personnel involved in immigration controls in the United States. The ministry also said HSI agents are present in more than 50 countries, including in Italy for many years, and that “All of the security operations in the territory remain as always the exclusive responsibility and direction of Italian authorities,”.
ICE and U.S. officials stressed the difference between HSI’s mission abroad and ERO’s work in U.S. immigration enforcement. The Department of Homeland Security said, “Obviously, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries,” and added that, at the Olympics, HSI is supporting the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and the host nation to vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organizations, with security operations remaining under Italian authority.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss security measures, said the general public likely would not even see or be aware of the HSI agents during the Olympics, describing them as working behind the scenes mainly in offices or the U.S. consulate in Milan.
The episode also drew statements from sports security stakeholders. The International Olympic Committee said in a statement that security is the responsibility of the host-country authorities, which work closely with participating delegations. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee said it works with the Diplomatic Security Service, the IOC and the host nation for security planning, but “not with U.S. domestic law enforcement or immigration agencies.”
Italy’s response underscored what the AP said reflects not only perceptions of the administration’s tactics but also broader rifts between Washington and some international allies during the president’s second term. On Tuesday, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi presided over a meeting of law enforcement and intelligence services to discuss security for the Games, which officials said will involve deployment of more than 6,000 police and other agents. The Games are described as spread across seven towns and cities in northern Italy, from Milan to the Austrian border.
Asked about the potential deployment over the weekend, Piantedosi gave a diplomatic shrug, as quoted by ANSA: “I don’t see what the problem would be,”.