Anger has mounted after confirmation that a branch of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency will assist with security arrangements for the Winter Olympics in northern Italy from February 6 to 22.
Reports had circulated for days that the agency, which has been closely associated with a controversial immigration crackdown in the United States, could be involved in security measures for the Games.
In a statement issued overnight to AFP, ICE said its Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unit would support the US Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and Italian authorities in assessing and mitigating risks posed by transnational criminal organisations.
“All security operations remain under Italian authority,” the agency said.
It remains unclear whether HSI has previously played a role in Olympic security or if this marks its first such involvement.
According to ICE, HSI investigates global threats, including the illegal movement of people, goods, money, weapons and sensitive technology across borders.
ICE stressed that its activities in Italy were separate from its domestic immigration enforcement operations, which are carried out by a different department.
“Obviously, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries,” the agency said.
The protection of US citizens at overseas Olympic Games is typically led by the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service.
Despite this clarification, ICE’s involvement has sparked criticism in Italy, where anger over US immigration operations has grown following the deaths of two civilians during a crackdown in Minneapolis.
Milan’s left-wing mayor, Giuseppe Sala, said the agency was “not welcome” in the city, which is hosting several Olympic events.
“This is a militia that kills,” Sala told RTL 102.5 radio. “It’s clear they are not welcome in Milan. Can’t we say no to President Donald Trump for once?”
Alessandro Zan, a European Parliament member from Italy’s centre-left Democratic Party, also condemned the move, calling it “unacceptable”.
“In Italy, we do not want those who trample on human rights and operate outside any democratic control,” he wrote on X.
Italian authorities initially denied ICE’s presence before later seeking to downplay its role, suggesting any involvement would be limited to security for the US delegation.
US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are due to attend the opening ceremony in Milan on February 6.
Lombardy regional president Attilio Fontana said on Monday that ICE’s role would be confined to monitoring the two officials. He later issued a statement clarifying that he had no specific information and had been responding to a hypothetical question.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi was quoted as saying that “ICE, as such, will never operate in Italy”.
The International Olympic Committee declined to comment directly, referring AFP to the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
ICE has recently deployed thousands of agents across US cities as part of President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration, prompting widespread protests. Public anger intensified after the deaths of two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both 37, during enforcement operations in Minneapolis.