Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala spoke out Tuesday amid reports that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement the agents would have a security role during the upcoming Winter Olympics, which are scheduled to begin in Milan on February 6.
“It’s a militia that kills,” Sala said in an interview with Italian media. “It’s a militia that enters people’s homes by signing permits themselves. … It’s clear that they are not welcome in Milan, there’s no doubt about it.”
“The Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service is leading U.S. security efforts during the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics,” the U.S. State Department said in a statement shared Tuesday with CBS News, as well as the Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service. “As with previous Olympic events, several federal agencies support the Diplomatic Security Service, including Homeland Security Investigations. [HSI]the investigative component of ICE.
Piero CRUCIATTI/AFP/Getty 
U.S. agencies noted that HSI supported the Diplomatic Security Service during previous Olympics.
“During the Olympics, the role of Homeland Security Investigations is strictly supportive – working with the Diplomatic Security Service and Italian authorities to monitor and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organizations,” the statement said. “ICE is not involved in policing or managing security during the Olympic Games. All security operations at the Olympic Games are directed and managed exclusively by the Italian authorities.”
Despite his disapproval, Sala wondered aloud during the interview with Italian radio RTL 102: “Could we ever say no to Trump?”
“I think they (ICE) should not come to Italy, because they do not guarantee that they align with our democratic methods of managing security,” Sala said. “We can keep them safe ourselves. We don’t need ICE.”
Gregorio Borgia/AP 
Reports of ICE’s planned role in U.S. security operations during the upcoming Winter Olympics came after Italian state television broadcast a video on Sunday of ICE agents threatening to smash the windows of a vehicle carrying a state television crew as they reported on the event. events in Minneapolisthe AP reported.
THE fatal shot by Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis this weekend, less than three weeks after Renee Good, another Minneapolis resident and U.S. citizen, was shot and killed by an ICE officer, placed the city at the center of America’s conflict over immigration enforcement and the tactics of its federal agencies.
