Political backlash is growing in Italy over plans to deploy officers from the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, ICE, to support US security operations during the Winter Olympics.
Current and former Italian officials have urged Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to intervene, amid heightened scrutiny of ICE following two fatal shootings involving immigration enforcement agents in Minneapolis earlier this month.
What the United States says
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed to CNN that ICE personnel will be present at the Games in a security support role.
A DHS spokesperson said ICE would not carry out immigration enforcement in Italy, stressing that all security operations remain under Italian authority. ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations unit will support the US Department of State Diplomatic Security Service in vetting and mitigating risks linked to transnational criminal organisations.
US officials noted that federal agencies have assisted with diplomatic security at previous Olympic Games, including through Homeland Security Investigations.
Italian government seeks to reassure
Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani attempted to defuse criticism, saying ICE agents would not be involved in public order or street policing.
“They are not coming to patrol the streets. They are working inside operations rooms, in collaboration with diplomatic security,” Tajani told Italian state broadcaster RAI.
He added that Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi was scheduled to meet the US ambassador to clarify the scope and limits of ICE’s role.
Strong opposition from political figures
Former prime minister Giuseppe Conte called on the government to block the deployment, saying Italy must “set its own limits”.
“After violence and killings in the US, we now learn that ICE agents will come to Italy to ensure security at the Milan Cortina Olympics. We cannot accept this,” Conte wrote on X, accusing the government of downplaying the issue.
Milan mayor rejects ICE presence
The strongest criticism came from Giuseppe Sala, who said the city does not need ICE assistance.
“They are not welcome in Milan,” Sala told Italian radio station RTL 102.5, describing ICE as incompatible with Italy’s approach to democratic security management.
“This is not about breaking diplomatic relations. It is about whether we are capable of saying no,” he added.
Wider concern and public reaction
Italian media reports of ICE’s involvement triggered petitions and public debate, particularly following reports that ICE agents killed two US citizens in Minneapolis during recent immigration operations.
Veteran lawmaker Carlo Calenda warned that ICE officers “must not set foot in Italy”, describing the agency as violent and lacking accountability.
The controversy underscores broader European unease over the export of US domestic security practices to international events, particularly when questions of jurisdiction, accountability and democratic oversight are involved.
Source: CNN