ICE Agents Spark Outrage in Italy Ahead of Winter Olympics
U.S. officials moved quickly to clarify ICE’s role at the Winter Olympic Games, stressing that the agency would not carry out immigration enforcement on Italian soil.
Thousands of protesters gathered in Los Angles as part of a nationwide 'National Shutdown' and 'ICE Out' day of action to protest federal immigration enforcement and recent fatal shootings of civilians by federal agents in Minneapolis. Photo by Anadolu Images.
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talian officials and lawmakers are voicing growing anger over plans to deploy U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to assist with security during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, with critics warning that the move undermines Italy’s sovereignty and democratic security standards.
Current and former Italian lawmakers have urged Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to intervene and prevent the agents’ deployment, citing ICE’s controversial role in President Donald Trump’s intensified immigration crackdown.
Former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte called on the government to “set our own limits,” following recent fatal incidents involving ICE agents in the United States. “After street violence and murders in the U.S., we cannot allow this,” Conte wrote on X, adding: “Enough with the bowing.”
Milan pushes back
Reports that ICE agents would be deployed to Milan ahead of the Games triggered protests, petitions, and sharp criticism from city officials.
Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said local authorities “do not need ICE” to secure the Olympics and declared the agency “not welcome in Milan.”
“This is a militia that kills,” Sala told Italian radio station RTL 102.5. “This isn’t about breaking relations with the United States, but about whether we can say ‘no.’”
Opposition lawmaker Carlo Calenda echoed the criticism, saying ICE agents “must not set foot in Italy,” describing the agency as “violent, unprepared, and out of control.”
U.S. officials seek to reassure
US officials moved quickly to clarify ICE’s role at the Games, stressing that the agency would not carry out immigration enforcement on Italian soil.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unit would play a limited security role, while US Ambassador to Italy Tilman Fertitta said its involvement would be “strictly advisory and intelligence-based,” with no patrol or enforcement duties.
The U.S. State Department said its Diplomatic Security Service is leading American security efforts in Milan, with HSI supporting risk assessments related to transnational criminal threats. All security operations, U.S. officials stressed, will remain under Italian authority.
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee also said it does not work with US domestic law enforcement or immigration agencies, including ICE, in the planning or execution of the Games.
Wider backlash
The controversy comes amid heightened scrutiny of ICE in the United States following the killing of two U..S citizens in Minneapolis in recent weeks, incidents that have fueled nationwide protests against immigration raids.
Some Americans living in Milan said the planned deployment damaged the US image abroad. Speaking anonymously, one expatriate said, “They don’t have jurisdiction here. I don’t understand why they would come at all.”
Italian authorities have not yet confirmed whether the deployment will proceed.
(Source: CNN)
