News that a unit of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement will be part of the security apparatus of the American delegation during the next Winter Games sparked concern and confusion in Italy, where people expressed outrage at the inclusion of an agency that made headlines for running the Trump administration. the administration’s crackdown on immigration.
Homeland Security Investigations, a unit within ICE that focuses on cross-border crimes, frequently sends its agents to overseas events like the Olympic Games to help with safety. HSI agents are separate from the ICE arm at the level at the forefront of the fight against immigration known as Execution and Removal Operations, and there was no indication that ERO agents were being sent to Italy.
That distinction, however, was not immediately clear to local media Tuesday morning.
Italy reacts to US security deployment
The reaction from some in Italy reflects not only a worsening perception abroad of the administration’s immigration tactics, but also highlights a wider gap between the United States under President Donald Trump and its international allies.
Vague reports that the ICE would be deployed in some capacity surfaced over the weekend, leading to a series of online petitions rallying support from people opposed to the ICE’s presence at the Games. They followed a RAI report broadcast Sunday showing an Italian news team threatened in Minneapolis by ICE agents. Trump’s immigration crackdown has intensified in recent weeks in Minneapolis, leading to deadly shootings. of two American citizens in the hands of federal immigration officials.
Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said ICE would not be welcome in his city, which will host the opening ceremony on February 6 attended by US Vice President JD Vance, as well as most ice sports.
“It’s a militia that kills, a militia that enters people’s homes, sign their own authorization forms. It’s clear that they are not welcome in Milan, without a doubt,” Sala told RTL Radio 102.
Distribution of ICE units
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is divided into several branches. Enforcement and Removal Operations is the part of the agency responsible for monitoring, arresting, and deporting aliens who no longer have the right to reside in the United States. These are the officers most directly responsible for implementing Trump’s mass deportation agenda.
Another branch of ICE is Homeland Security Investigations. HSI agents investigate anything with a cross-border nexus, from human trafficking to fentanyl trafficking to cultural artifact smuggling. HSI agents are stationed in embassies around the world to assist with their investigations and establish relationships with local law enforcement in those countries.
ICE agents deployed to Italy for the Games will have a different role than that seen in immigration enforcement in the United States, officials stressed.
“Clearly, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Tuesday.
“During the Olympics, ICE Homeland Security Investigations supports the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and the host nation to monitor and mitigate risks related to transnational criminal organizations. All security operations remain under Italian authority.”
A U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss security measures said the general public would likely not see or even be aware of the presence of HSI agents on the ground during the Olympics. The official said HSI agents would work behind the scenes, mostly in offices or at the U.S. consulate in Milan, as they have done at previous international events.
For years, HSI distanced itself from anything related to deportations or immigration enforcement. At one point, they got new branding and email addresses to stand out, because agents working in parts of the country that were strongly politically opposed to immigration enforcement weren’t getting their emails responded to because they had an ICE.gov address.
Under the Trump administration, however, HSI agents have worked more closely with the other branch of ICE — deportation agents — to focus more on immigration issues. They were go on operations with deportation officers and focusing more on immigration fraud cases.
Reaction highlights strained ties
The International Olympic Committee said in a statement that security “is the responsibility of the host country authorities, who work closely with participating delegations.”
The reaction in Italy highlights increasingly tense relations between Trump and traditional U.S. allies in Europe, which were tested during the president’s second term over his threats to seize Greenland.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told reporters on Tuesday that the ICE agents deployed for the Games will not be “the ones with machine guns and their faces covered. They will be officials belonging to the anti-terrorism department.”
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi met American Ambassador Tilman Fertitta in his office late this morning for a conversation described as cordial. The Interior Minister is one of Italy’s top law enforcement officials, responsible for Games security, which is coordinated with regional prefects.
Asked about a possible deployment over the weekend, he shrugged diplomatically: “I don’t see what the problem would be,” he said, quoted by the ANSA news agency.
Cortina Mayor Gianluca Lorenzi told The Associated Press that municipal administrations defer to the Italian prefecture and law enforcement on matters of delegation security — which he said is in line with Italian guidelines.
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Barry reported from Milan. Associated Press writers Rebecca Santana and Matthew Lee contributed from Washington and Graham Dunbar from Crans-Montana, Switzerland.
