Italians furious over deployment of ICE agents to bolster US security at Winter Olympics
Criticism is growing in Italy over the deployment of ICE agents
By Sana Noor Haq, Barbie Latza Nadeau, Antonia Mortensen, CNN
(CNN) — Outrage is growing in Italy over the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to assist US security operations at the Winter Olympics next month.
Current and former lawmakers urged Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to intervene to block the agents’ presence in the wake of two fatal shootings during an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed the reports in a statement to CNN on Tuesday.
ICE will serve “a security role” at the Olympics, a DHS spokesperson said. “They don’t do immigration enforcement (operations) in a foreign country obviously,” the spokesperson added.
According to the Associated Press, citing sources, federal agencies have supported security for US diplomats in previous Olympics, including Homeland Security Investigations, which is a part of ICE.
The former Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte urged the country’s government to “set -our own limits” and “make clear decisions.”
“After street violence and murders in the US, we now learn from their spokesperson that ICE agents will come to Italy to ensure security at the Milan-Cortina Olympics,” Conte posted on X on Tuesday, referring to reports quoting ICE in Italian media.
“We cannot allow this,” he added. “Our government tried to downplay the situation, but these latest statements speak clearly of ICE’s determination to come and ensure ‘security’ in Italy as well. Enough with the bowing,” Conte added.
That same day, the Mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, declared that authorities “don’t need ICE” to implement security at the Olympics, telling local radio, “They’re not welcome in Milan.”
“This is a militia that kills,” Sala told Italian radio station RTL 102.5 on Tuesday. “Could we ever say ‘No’ to Trump? This isn’t about severing relations or creating a diplomatic incident, but could we say ‘No?’”
“I believe they shouldn’t come to Italy because they don’t guarantee they’re aligned with our democratic security management methods,” added Sala.
Over the weekend, Italian media reports of ICE’s deployment to the northern city of Milan drew fire and even prompted petitions, amid increased scrutiny over the jurisdiction and force leveraged by immigration officers in the US.
In recent weeks, ICE federal law enforcement agents killed two US citizens in the city of Minneapolis – against the backdrop of intensified protests demanding a halt to sweeping immigration raids by the White House.
Another Italian lawmaker warned ICE agents “must not set foot in Italy.” “It is a violent, unprepared, and out-of-control militia,” Carlo Calenda, a veteran politician, told RTL 102.5 on Tuesday.
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CNN’s Kit Maher and Sharon Braithwaite contributed reporting.
