The news that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will aid security operations in the upcoming Milan Cortina Olympics has sparked outrage among current and former Italian leaders.
“This is a militia that kills,” Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala told Italian media outlet RTL Radio 102, according to The Associated Press. “A militia that enters into the homes of people, signing their own permission slips. It is clear they are not welcome in Milan, without a doubt.”
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Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin confirmed to TIME on Tuesday that ICE agents will support U.S. security operations at the Winter Games, which are being held in Milan and Cortina D’Ampezzo from Feb. 6-22.
“Obviously, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries,” McLaughlin said in a statement. “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. All security operations remain under Italian authority.”
Federal agents have participated in U.S. security operations in previous Olympic Games, and some Italian leaders appeared to be unfazed by the prospect of ICE officers serving in such a role at the Milan Cortina Games.
“Let’s be clear: it’s not like they’re coming to maintain public order in the middle of the streets,” Antonio Tajani, the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, told the country’s radio station RAI, according to CNN. “They’re coming to collaborate in the operations rooms.”
But other leaders, including Sala, were sharply critical of the news, citing the growing controversy surrounding ICE’s operations in the U.S. Earlier this month, an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and mother of three, in Minneapolis. Less than three weeks later, in the same city, federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and registered nurse.
“After street violence and killings in the USA, we now learn from their spokesperson that ICE agents will come to Italy for security at the Milan-Cortina Olympics,” former Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said in a post on X on Tuesday. “We cannot allow this.”
Conte called on the country’s current government—led by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, one of President Donald Trump’s closest allies in Europe—to “set our own boundaries” and “make clear decisions.”
Sala told RTL Radio 102 that he didn’t think ICE agents should come to the Games “because they don’t guarantee they’re aligned with our democratic security management methods,” according to CNN. He suggested that Italian leaders push back on the Trump Administration.
“Could we ever say ‘No’ to Trump?” he said. “This isn’t about severing relations or creating a diplomatic incident, but could we say ‘No?’”
Carlo Calenda, an Italian politician, told RTL Radio 102 that ICE officers “must not set foot in Italy,” according to CNN.
“It is a violent, unprepared, and out-of-control militia,” he said.
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