Outrage is growing in Italy over the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to assist US security operations at the Winter Olympics next month – something US officials say has been common practice at previous Olympics.
ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations, a division of the agency, will serve “a security role” at the Olympics, a spokesperson from the US Department of Homeland Security confirmed to CNN Tuesday. “They don’t do immigration enforcement (operations) in a foreign country obviously,” the spokesperson added.
Federal agencies have supported the security of US diplomats at previous Olympics, including Homeland Security Investigations, a State Department spokesperson told CNN.
The State Department also specified that its Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) is leading the US security effort in Milan.
“At the Olympics, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations is supporting the US Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and host nation to vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organizations,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told CNN in a statement. “All security operations remain under Italian authority,” she added.
Current and former lawmakers have urged Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to intervene and block the agents’ presence in the wake of two fatal shootings during Trump’s ongoing immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi met with US Ambassador Tilman Fertitta on Tuesday, according to the Interior Ministry, which confirmed that ICE’s investigative arm, not the operational arm, will be present at the Milan-Cortina Olympics. “The agency will work exclusively within their diplomatic missions and not on the ground,” the ministry said in a social media post.
“It is important to reiterate that Homeland Security Investigation investigators will not be represented by operational personnel like those engaged in immigration controls in the US, but by representatives exclusively specialized in investigations,” the ministry added.
The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee emphasized in a statement to CNN that it does not work with “US domestic law enforcement or immigration agencies in the planning or execution of the Games,” including ICE.
“As with every Olympic and Paralympic Games for more than three decades, the USOPC works in coordination with DSS, the International Olympic Committee, and the host nation to support Games security planning,” USOPC said.
DSS is expected to only operate in “a liaison and advisory capacity,” and will not conduct “law enforcement, immigration, or policing activities in Italy,” the statement read.
Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, sought to placate his colleagues’ concerns over the use of ICE by the US diplomatic security detail, following increasingly aggressive tactics by the agency in the US.
“Let’s be clear: it’s not like they’re coming to maintain public order in the middle of the streets. They’re coming to collaborate in the operations rooms,” Tajani told Italian radio station RAI on Tuesday.
“It’s not like they’re the ones on the streets of Minneapolis,” the foreign minister said. “It’s not like the SS are coming.
“The problem isn’t that those with machine guns are coming with their faces covered. They’re coming from a specific unit. They’re coming because it’s the unit responsible for counterterrorism,” Tajani added.
‘A militia that kills’
The former Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte urged the country’s government to “set our own limits” and “make clear decisions.”
“After street violence and murders in the US, we now learn from their spokesperson that ICE agents will come to Italy to ensure security at the Milan-Cortina Olympics,” Conte posted on X on Tuesday, referring to reports quoting ICE in Italian media.
“We cannot allow this,” he added. “Our government tried to downplay the situation, but these latest statements speak clearly of ICE’s determination to come and ensure ‘security’ in Italy as well. Enough with the bowing,” Conte added.
That same day, the Mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, declared that authorities “don’t need ICE” to implement security at the Olympics, telling local radio, “They’re not welcome in Milan.”
“This is a militia that kills,” Sala told Italian radio station RTL 102.5 on Tuesday. “Could we ever say ‘No’ to Trump? This isn’t about severing relations or creating a diplomatic incident, but could we say ‘No?’”
“I believe they shouldn’t come to Italy because they don’t guarantee they’re aligned with our democratic security management methods,” added Sala.
Another Italian lawmaker warned ICE agents “must not set foot in Italy.” “It is a violent, unprepared, and out-of-control militia,” Carlo Calenda, a veteran politician, told RTL 102.5 on Tuesday.
Over the weekend, Italian media reports of ICE’s deployment to the northern city of Milan drew criticism and prompted petitions, amid increased scrutiny over the jurisdiction and force leveraged by immigration officers in the US.
In recent weeks, ICE federal law enforcement agents killed two US citizens in the city of Minneapolis – against the backdrop of intensified protests demanding a halt to sweeping immigration raids by the White House.
Several Americans living in Milan reacted to the move by US authorities with incredulity, expressing concern over their country’s reputation on the world stage under US President Donald Trump’s domestic and foreign policy agenda. They spoke to CNN under the condition of anonymity, for fear of retaliation.
“I’m so confused, why on earth would ICE agents come to Italy? They don’t have jurisdiction here,” one person said on Tuesday.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Kit Maher and Sharon Braithwaite contributed reporting.
