‘This is a militia that kills’: Olympics rattled by ICE security detail as mayor declares ‘they are not welcome in Milan, without a doubt’

Homeland Security Investigations, a unit within ICE that focuses on cross-border crimes, often sends its officers to foreign events such as the Olympics to assist with security. HSI officers separate from the ICE arm are at the forefront of an immigration crackdown known as Enforcement and Removal Operations, and there has been no indication that ERO officers have been sent to Italy.

But that distinction wasn’t immediately clear to local media Tuesday morning.

Italy responds to the American security deployment

The reaction among some in Italy not only reflects a worsening perception abroad of the administration’s tactics on immigration, but also highlights a broader rift between the United States under president Donald Trump and its international allies.

Vague reports that ICE would be deployed in some capacity emerged over the weekend, leading to a series of online petitions to gather support from people opposed to ICE’s presence in the games. It followed an RAI news report broadcast on Sunday showing an Italian news crew being threatened in Minneapolis by ICE agents. Trump’s anti-immigration campaign has intensified in recent weeks in Minneapolis, leading to the shooting deaths of US citizens at the hands of federal immigration officers.

Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said ICE would not be welcome in his city, which is hosting the opening ceremony on February 6 that will be attended by US Vice President J.D. Vance, as well as most ice sports.

“This is a militia that kills, a militia that enters people’s homes, signing their special permits,” Sala told RTL 102 radio. “It is clear that they are not welcome in Milan, without a doubt.”

Collapse of ice units

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is divided into different arms. Enforcement and Removal Operations is part of the agency charged with monitoring, apprehending, and deporting aliens who no longer have the right to be in the United States. They are the officers directly charged with implementing Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

Another arm of ICE is Homeland Security Investigations. HSI agents conduct investigations into anything with a cross-border connection from human smuggling to fentanyl trafficking to the smuggling of cultural artifacts. HSI agents are stationed in embassies around the world to facilitate their investigations and build relationships with local law enforcement in those countries.

Officials stressed that ICE agents deployed to Italy for the Games will have a different role than that seen in immigration crackdowns in the United States.

“It is clear that ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Tuesday.

“At the Olympic Games, ICE Homeland Security Investigations supports the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and the host nation to examine and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organizations. All security operations remain under Italian authority.”

A U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss security measures, said the general public likely would not see or know that HSI agents were on the ground during the Olympics. The official said HSI agents will work behind the scenes, especially in offices or the US consulate in Milan, as they have done during previous international events.

For years HSI has distanced itself from anything related to deportations or immigration enforcement. At some point, they obtained branding and new email addresses to distinguish themselves because agents working in parts of the country with strong political opposition to immigration enforcement wouldn’t get their emails answered because they had an ICE.gov address.

However, under the Trump administration, HSI agents have been working closely with the other arm of ICE — deportation officers — to focus more on immigration cases. They have been doing operations with deportation officers and focusing more on immigration fraud cases.

The reaction highlights fraught relationships

The International Olympic Committee said in a statement that security “is the responsibility of the host country authorities, who work closely with the participating delegations.”

The reaction in Italy highlights increasingly tense relations between Trump and traditional US allies in Europe, which have been tested during the president’s second term by his threats to seize Greenland.

Secretary of State Antonio Tajani told reporters on Tuesday that the ICE agents deployed for the games will not be “those with machine guns with their faces covered. They will be employees who belong to the Counterterrorism Department.”

Interior Minister Matteo Piantidosi met in his office with US Ambassador Tilman Fertitta late in the morning for a conversation described as friendly. The Minister of the Interior is Italy’s top law enforcement official, charged with the security of the Games, which is coordinated with the regional governors.

When asked about the possible spread over the weekend, he shrugged diplomatically, saying: “I don’t see what the problem is,” the Italian news agency ANSA quoted him as saying.

Cortina’s mayor, Gianluca Lorenzi, told the Associated Press that municipal administrations fall under the prefecture and Italian law enforcement authorities on matters related to the security of delegations — which is supposedly 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.