US reveals plan to send ICE agents to Winter Olympics sparking outrage in Italy
Topics: Donald Trump, Immigration, US News, Sport, Olympics
The UNILAD Team
Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Smith Collection/Gado
Topics: Donald Trump, Immigration, US News, Sport, Olympics
Donald Trump's government has sparked fury after announcing plans to send Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) troops to the Winter Olympics, which will take place in Milan later this year.
ICE have been engaged in controversy after controversy following numerous deaths in the US in recent weeks - most recently the shooting of intensive care nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
Their actions have sparked protests and calls for the agents to be removed from affected cities, but amid the ongoing backlash, Trump announced that their presence would officially be expanding overseas.
Confirming the news that ICE would be heading to the Winter Olympics, a spokesperson from the US Department of Homeland Security told CNN the Homeland Security Investigations division would serve a 'security role' at the games, adding: “They don’t do immigration enforcement (operations) in a foreign country obviously."
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Now, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government is working overtime to contain the aftershocks of the announcement that has caused a lot of anger on all sides of the political spectrum in Italy.
There has been some confusion about ICE's role at the Winter Olympics after Attilio Fontana, president of Lombardy, suggested that ICE would be assisting with the security of US Vice Secretary JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who will both be attending the opening ceremony at Milan’s San Siro stadium on February 6.
Despite the controversy, it is seen as common practice for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and domestic law enforcement agencies to provide security support at major international events.
The DHS said in a statement that 'all security operations at the Olympics are directed and managed exclusively by Italian authorities'.
Speaking to Italian radio yesterday, Milan Mayor Beppe Sala said: "It’s clear that they are not welcome in Milan, there’s no doubt about it. Can’t we just say no to Trump for once? We can take care of their security ourselves. We don’t need ICE.”
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani stressed that the officers that would be in Milan would 'not be those that are on the streets of Minneapolis'.
He went on to say: “I have been harder than anyone else in Italy on [the ICE raids] … but it’s not like the SS are coming."
He also stressed that ICE would not be on Italian streets, only police officers working alongside the Carabinieri military police and the Guardia di Finanza financial authority. Alessandro Zan, member of the European Parliament for the centre-left Democratic party, said the presence of ICE agents would be unacceptable.
Writing to X, he said: “In Italy, we don’t want those who trample on human rights and act outside of any democratic control."
There has been collaboration across the political spectrum in Italy, with smaller opposition parties, the Green and Left Alliance (AVS) and Azione, starting up petitions calling on the Italian government and the Olympic organising committee to prevent the ICE agents’ entry and involvement in the security operations.
In an official statement posted to their website, ICE said: “At the Olympics, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is supporting the US Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and the host nation to vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organizations. All security operations remain under Italian authority.”
The Department of Homeland Security posted on X, saying: "Obviously, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries.
"At the Olympics, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations is supporting the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and host nation to vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organizations."
The US Embassy in Rome has issued guidance to the Italian media, stating that it is common practice for federal agencies to work at the Olympic Games. It is not clear, however, if this has previously involved ICE. They said that ICE's role would be 'strictly supportive - working with the Diplomatic Security Service and Italian authorities to vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organisations'.
They added that they would not be conducting immigration enforcement ops outside of the US, according to US Homeland Security Department spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin.
There has been a spate of deaths in the US recently in altercations with protestors and ICE officers. An ICE agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Good on 7 January in Minneapolis, prompting widespread outrage across the city.
Following this, on 24 January, ICU nurse Alex Pretti was shot by US Border Patrol Agents. It has been reported that two Italian journalists from public broadcaster Rai were threatened by ICE agents as they tried to cover the agency's actions.
The Rai TV report showed that one agent warned the crew that if they kept filming the agents, their car window would be smashed.