ICE agents to support security at Winter Olympics, stirring anger in Italy

Rome: A US embassy source confirmed local media reports that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel would help protect US delegations at the Winter Olympics in Italy, sparking outrage among some Italian politicians.

ICE and Border Patrol agents have come under heavy criticism in the United States for enforcing President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigrants after two U.S. citizens were shot and killed in separate incidents in Minnesota this month.

The embassy source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division will support the U.S. State Department’s security service at the Feb. 6-22 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

HSI agents will not conduct any immigration enforcement activities while in Italy, but will instead aim to “mitigate risks from transnational criminal organizations,” the source said, without elaborating. “All security operations remain under Italian authority,” the source added.

HSI has been involved in major sporting events in the past, both in the United States and abroad, including previous Olympic Games, as part of international partnerships to address human trafficking and drug trafficking, a former official said.

ICE spokespeople did not immediately respond to questions about the operation in Italy. As with past Olympics, multiple federal agencies, including HSI, will assist with security, a State Department spokesman said.

Italian politicians want ice banned

Despite assurances that there was nothing unusual about the HSI deployment, Italian politicians have criticized ICE’s participation in next month’s Games, highlighting how the US’s image has been tarnished in recent months.

“This seems like complete stupidity to me,” said Maurizio Lupi, leader of the small centrist party in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s ruling coalition. la Repubblica daily.

The left-leaning mayor of Milan, one of the Olympics’ host cities, called ICE a “killer militia.”

Speaking to RTL 102.5 radio, Giuseppe Sala said: “It is clear that they are not welcome in Milan, there is no doubt about that.”

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called for a measured response. “We’re not talking about (ICE employees) wandering the streets of Minneapolis… It’s not like the (Nazi) SS are coming,” he told reporters at a Holocaust memorial event.

While many ICE agents in the United States are detailed to support routine immigration enforcement, HSI’s mission is to focus on cross-border crimes.

But Italia Viva, the centrist opposition party led by former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, said agents affiliated with ICE did not represent Italian values ​​and should be prevented from entering.

The far-left USB union said it would organize an “ICE OUT” rally in central Milan on February 6 to coincide with the opening ceremony.

Reuters

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