The United States will deploy agents from its Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) to assist with security for the American delegation at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, a decision that has ignited significant political controversy and public outrage across Italy.
The plan, confirmed by U.S. officials, calls for agents from ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unit to support the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service in vetting transnational criminal threats during the Games.
Despite U.S. assurances that the agents will play a limited, non-enforcement role and that all security remains under ultimate Italian authority, the move has drawn fierce condemnation from Italian politicians and citizens, fueled by recent deadly ICE operations in the United States.
The controversy stems directly from recent events in Minneapolis, where ICE and Border Patrol agents have been conducting an immigration crackdown under the Trump administration.
In the past three weeks, federal agents have shot and killed two U.S. citizens during operations in the city: writer Renee Good on January 7 and intensive care nurse Alex Pretti on January 24.
The deaths have sparked mass protests and intensified scrutiny of the agency’s tactics. This scrutiny reached Italy after the state broadcaster RAI aired footage on Sunday showing masked ICE agents in Minneapolis threatening to smash the window of a RAI news crew’s vehicle if they continued filming.
These images have dominated Italian media coverage, setting the stage for the political firestorm that followed reports of ICE’s Olympic deployment.
Leading the opposition is Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala, whose city will host numerous Olympic events. He has been unequivocal in his rejection of the agents. “This is a militia that kills,” Sala declared in a radio interview with RTL 102.5. “It is clear that they are not welcome in Milan, there’s no doubt about it. Can’t we just say no to Trump for once?”.
He argued that the agents’ methods are incompatible with Italian democracy, stating, “I believe they shouldn’t come to Italy because they don’t guarantee they’re aligned with our democratic security management methods. We can take care of their security ourselves. We don’t need ICE”.
The backlash extends across the Italian political spectrum. Alessandro Zan, a member of the European Parliament for the centre-left Democratic Party, stated, “In Italy, we don’t want those who trample on human rights and act outside of any democratic control”.
Former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, president of the Five Star Movement, demanded the government take a stand: “After street violence and killings in the USA, we now learn… that ICE agents will come to Italy… We cannot allow this”. Two opposition parties have launched petitions calling on the government and Olympic organizers to block the agents’ entry.
U.S. and some Italian government officials have sought to downplay the role and reassure the public.
In a statement, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security emphasized that “ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries” and that its HSI agents are supporting the diplomatic security mission to “vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organizations”.
The statement stressed that “all security operations remain under Italian authority”. Italy’s Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, attempted to defuse the tension by clarifying the agents’ scope. “Let’s be clear. They’re not coming to maintain public order in the middle of the streets. They’re coming to collaborate in the operations rooms,” he said. In an attempt at reassurance that sparked its own criticism, Tajani added, “It’s not like the SS are coming”.
The Italian central government’s response has appeared conflicted. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi initially said he had not received official confirmation of ICE’s deployment but saw no issue, telling ANSA, “I don’t see what the problem would be”.
Following the surge in public anger, his ministry later insisted that “at the moment there are no indications that ICE USA will act as an escort” and that Piantedosi would seek clarification from the U.S. ambassador.
The agents’ presence is tied to the visit of a high-level U.S. delegation led by Vice President JD Vance and including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Second Lady Usha Vance for the opening ceremony on February 6. U.S. officials note that multiple federal agencies, including HSI, have routinely supported diplomatic security at previous Olympic Games.
Despite these official explanations, the political and symbolic weight of the decision has proven overwhelming for many in Italy. The controversy places Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government in a difficult position, balancing its friendly relations with the Trump administration against domestic political pressure.
For critics, the prospect of ICE agents operating on Italian soil, however limited their mandate, represents an unacceptable endorsement of tactics seen as fundamentally undemocratic and violent.