Agents from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), considered controversial, are to help with security measures during the Winter Olympics in Italy, which begin in less than two weeks, TASR informs, according to a report by the AFP agency.
- US ICE agents are to assist with security at the Olympics in Italy.
- ICE’s role is to screen for risks from transnational criminal organizations.
- The presence of ICE has sparked debate and opposition from politicians in Italy, especially in Milan.
- Italian authorities first denied ICE involvement, then claimed it was to protect the delegation.
- The ICE unit is controversial for its crackdown on migrants and deaths in the US.
“ICE’s Homeland Security Investigative Branch at the Olympics will support the US Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and the host country in screening and mitigating the risks posed by transnational criminal organizations,” the agency said in a statement.
At the same time, the agency added that “it is clear that ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries.” The presence of its agents in Italy during the Winter Olympics caused a debate in the country, especially in connection with the death of two civilians during anti-immigration interventions in the American Minneapolis.
Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said on Tuesday that ICE agents ‘not welcome’ in Italy. “These are militias that kill… they are clearly not welcome in Milan, there’s no doubt about that. Can’t we just say no to (US President Donald) Trump for once?” he said in an interview with RTL 102.5 radio.
Italian authorities first presence of the agency ICE denied and subsequently tried to downplay her role, while they indicated that he would only help with the security of the American delegation.
They are at the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Milan on the sixth of February US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will also attend. The president of the Lombardy region, Attilio Fontana, said Monday that ICE agents will only oversee the safety of American leaders. However, his office subsequently issued a statement saying that he had no information about the presence of agents and that he was only answering a hypothetical question.
Thousands of ICE agents have been deployed by President Donald Trump in various US cities to they were conducting raids aimed at illegal immigration. Their activities have sparked widespread protests, and the recent killings of American citizens Renée Good and Alex Pretti on the streets of Minneapolis have sparked outrage not only in the United States but also abroad.
