Anger as branch of ICE to help with security at Winter Olympics

The leftist mayor of Milan, which is hosting several Olympic events, said ICE was “not welcome”.

“This is a militia that kills … It’s clear that they are not welcome in Milan, there’s no doubt about it,” Giuseppe Sala told RTL 102.5 radio.

“Can’t we just say no to (US President Donald) Trump for once?”

Alessandro Zan, a member of the European Parliament for the centre-left Democratic Party, condemned it as “unacceptable”.

“In Italy, we don’t want those who trample on human rights and act outside of any democratic control,” he wrote on X.

MONITORING VANCE

Italian authorities initially denied the presence of ICE and then sought to downplay any role, suggesting they would help only in security for the US delegation.

US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are attending the opening ceremony in Milan on Feb 6.

Giovanni Malago, president of the Milan-Cortina organising committee, said he believed ICE agents would be present “for the high-ranking US government officials” and have “nothing to do with the Games’ security aspects”.

“It’s not about the Olympics, but about individuals,” he said.

On Monday, the president of the northern Lombardy region, said their involvement would be limited to monitoring Vance and Rubio.

“It will be only in a defensive role, but I am convinced that nothing will happen,” Attilio Fontana told reporters.

However, his office then issued a statement saying he did not have any specific information on their presence, but was responding to a hypothetical question.

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi was quoted as saying late Monday that “ICE, as such, will never operate in Italy”.

Piantedosi’s office said he met with the US ambassador in Rome on Tuesday.

The International Olympic Committee when contacted by AFP replied that “security at the Olympic Games is the responsibility of the authorities of the host country, who work closely with the participating delegations”.

“We kindly refer you to the USOPC (the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee)”, it said.

Thousands of ICE agents have been deployed by President Donald Trump in various US cities to carry out a crackdown on illegal immigration.

Their actions have prompted widespread protests, and the recent killings of US citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both 37, on the streets of Minneapolis sparked outrage.