ICE division to help boost security at the Winter Olympics in Italy | OneFootball

A division of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will participate in security operations during the Winter Olympic Games in Italy in February, a spokesperson told AFP this Tuesday (27).

The presence of ICE agents at the Games, which will take place in Milan-Cortina from February 6 to 22, has sparked a major debate in Italy following outrage over the deaths of two American civilians during operations against immigrants in Minneapolis.

“At the Olympic Games, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) will support the Diplomatic Security Service of the U.S. Department of State and the host country in assessing and mitigating risks posed by transnational criminal organizations,” the agency said in a statement.

“All security operations remain under Italian authority,” the note adds. The statement emphasizes that “obviously, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries” and that the measure is not related to the current anti-immigration campaign in the United States.

The protection of American citizens during the Olympic Games abroad is the responsibility of the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) of the Department of State.

“They are not welcome”

The mayor of Milan, left-wing politician Giuseppe Sala, stated that ICE agents “are not welcome” in the city.

“This is a militia that kills (…) It’s clear they are not welcome in Milan, there’s no doubt about it. Can we just say no to (Donald) Trump for once?” Sala said in an interview with RTL 102.5 Radio, referring to the President of the United States.

Alessandro Zan, a member of the European Parliament from the Democratic Party (center-left), considered the announcement “unacceptable.”

“In Italy, we do not want those who trample on human rights and operate outside any democratic control,” he wrote on X.

Outrage

The Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is a federal agency that, under the umbrella of ICE, investigates a large number of crimes (cybercrime, child trafficking, arms and drug trafficking, among others) and, according to its website, is also responsible for protecting U.S. citizens “at home, abroad, and online.”

Thousands of ICE agents were deployed by President Trump in various American cities as part of a campaign against illegal immigration.

ICE’s actions sparked widespread protests, and the recent deaths of American citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both 37, on the streets of Minneapolis, triggered a wave of outrage.

Italian authorities initially denied ICE’s presence and later tried to downplay its role, indicating that the agents are only to assist with the security of the American delegation. U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in Milan on February 6.

On Monday, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi stated that “ICE as such will never operate in Italy, since the management of public order, immigration, and security is the responsibility of our police forces.”

“If at any point, hypothetically, isolated units belonging to these American security agencies do arrive, they will be mobilized in a functional and not operational manner,” he explained.

The president of the Lombardy region, in the north of the country, which will host part of the competitions, stated that ICE’s involvement would be limited to the security of Vance and Rubio. “It will have only a defensive role, but I am convinced that nothing will happen,” declared Attilio Fontana.

Shortly after, Fontana’s office explained that the regional president was responding to a hypothetical question, without having specific information about the presence of ICE agents on Italian territory.

By AFP

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.