Outrage has erupted in Italy after it emerged that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement unit would play a role in U.S. security for the Winter Olympics next month.
A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman said agents with Homeland Security Investigations, a part of ICE that focuses on transnational crime, would be involved in helping to “vet and mitigate risks” at the Milan Cortina Games starting a week from Friday.
It is not unusual for the division, which takes the lead in international human trafficking situations, to work on marquee events abroad. But its affiliation with ICE has sparked anger from some Italian politicians and media in light of the U.S. immigration crackdown and two fatal shootings by federal officers in Minnesota this month.
Milan’s mayor described ICE as “a militia that kills,” saying it was not welcome in the host city.
“Obviously, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries,” DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement Tuesday. “At the Olympics, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations is supporting the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and host nation to vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organizations.”
She added, “All security operations remain under Italian authority.”
Homeland Security Investigations is an investigative arm of DHS, and though it technically falls under ICE, it focuses on investigating transnational crime and issues with global trade or financial systems.
Ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, Homeland Security Investigations said it was working with French officials “to secure” the Games “through the sharing of best practices.”
The U.S. Embassy in Italy said in a statement: “The State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service is leading the U.S. security effort at the Milano–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. As in previous Olympic events, multiple federal agencies are supporting the Diplomatic Security Service, including Homeland Security Investigations, ICE’s investigative component.”
Some Italian officials had already reacted with fury.
“This is a militia that kills. It is a militia that enters people’s homes by signing its own permission — it is clear that they are not welcome in Milan,” the city’s mayor, Giuseppe Sala, told Italian radio RTL 102.5 on Tuesday.
“I wonder: Can we, for once, say no to Trump?” Sala said, referring to U.S. President Donald Trump. “ICE agents must not come to Italy because they are not aligned with our democratic way of ensuring security.”
Alessandro Zan, a lawmaker for Italy’s opposition Democratic Party, wrote Tuesday that it would be “paradoxical to entrust” Olympics security “to those who are themselves criminals, operating with violence and killing innocent people in cold blood,” referring to ICE.
“In Italy, we do not want those who trample on human rights and act outside of any democratic control. It is unacceptable to think that an agency of this kind could have any role whatsoever in our country,” he wrote on X.
Senators from the party formally requested clarification from the government and assurances that Italian and European Union privacy and cybersecurity standards were complied with.
The saga began Saturday when ICE’s role was reported by the Italian newspaper Fatto Quotidiano, citing an anonymous source.
Later that day, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi denied knowledge of this but did not rule it out.
“Every country delegation decides to protect their own athletes and staff in the way they want. I spoke with local officials and this is not what we heard,” he told the ANSA news agency.
On Monday, Attilio Fontana, the president of the Lombardy region where the Games will be held, appeared to confirm it.
“ICE will only be here to watch over U.S. Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Rubio,” he told ANSA, referring to JD Vance and Marco Rubio. “So it will only be in a defensive measure. I am convinced that nothing will happen.”
But his office then said he did not have any specific information and was responding to a hypothetical question, according to Italian media.
The local governor’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment from NBC News.