By Motoko Rich
ICE will accompany the US delegation to the Winter Olympics in Italy next month, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed on Tuesday, stoking a backlash among Italians angered by the conduct of ICE agents in Minneapolis.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will join a security team from the State Department at the Olympics “to vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organisations,” DHS said in a statement attributed to Tricia McLaughlin, the department’s assistant secretary for public affairs.
“All security operations remain under Italian authority,” the statement said, adding that ICE “does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries.”
Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are expected to attend the start of the games on Feb. 6, and 232 American athletes are set to compete in the events.
In a statement Tuesday, the State Department said that “as in previous Olympic events, multiple federal agencies are supporting the Diplomatic Security Service, including Homeland Security Investigations, ICE’s investigative component.”
Despite the caveats by US officials, news of the agency’s involvement has spurred outcry in Italy, particularly after the killing by ICE and Border Patrol agents of two American citizens during recent protests in Minneapolis.
The Italian government said on Tuesday that it was seeking clarification from American diplomats after reports emerged over the weekend that ICE would attend the Games in Italy.
Antonio Tajani, Italy’s foreign minister, told reporters that ICE agents would not be allowed to deploy on Italian streets. He added that “public order during the Olympics” would be done only by the Italian national and local police but stopped short of saying that US agents would be limited to operational rooms.
The Italian government’s intervention followed growing outrage from Italian politicians over the agency’s presence at the Games.
Giuseppe Sala, the mayor of Milan, said in a telephone interview that the Italian government should “say no to Trump.”
Mr. Sala added: “Bringing to Milan a militia which distinguished itself — this is not my opinion — with criminal acts, which kills, which enters in the homes of American citizens without authorization, I do not think that that is a good idea.”
Elly Schlein, leader of the country’s center-left Democratic Party, said in an interview that she was concerned about the arrival in Italy of “an armed militia that is not respecting the law on American soil.” She added: “And so there is the concern that they would not respect them on Italian soil either.”
After the first reports on the subject emerged over the weekend, Matteo Piantedosi, Italy’s interior minister, told reporters on Monday that the situation was “a controversy over nothing,” adding that the US government had not yet confirmed that ICE officers would join the American delegation. “But I specify — whatever the communication will be, ICE, as such, will never operate in Italy,” Mr. Piantedosi said.
In separate remarks over the weekend, Mr. Piantedosi said that foreign delegations had the right to choose who staff their security teams, and that “I don’t see what the problem is.” He added that it was “absolutely forbidden” for foreign officers “to carry out police or similar activities on our soil, especially if they are related to combating immigration. Anyone who, while engaging in institutional politics, ignores these basic rules and claims otherwise is either incompetent or acting in bad faith.”
Mr. Piantedosi’s weekend comments generated a furor. Writing in La Stampa, an Italian newspaper, journalist Francesco Malfetano described ICE as an institution that “for many, not only across the Atlantic, is synonymous with fear.”
US law enforcement had a more limited role in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Homeland Security Investigations, a branch of ICE, collaborated with French law enforcement to “share best practices” ahead of the games.
On Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Piantedosi met with US ambassador to Italy, Tilman J. Fertitta, to discuss the presence of ICE agents at the Games. In a statement, Mr. Piantedosi said the Italian authorities would coordinate with the US agents “for the protection of American athletes and delegations in the coming weeks,” and reiterated that “ICE agents will have no external public order function.”
 "Outcry in Italy as US says ICE agents will join Olympics delegation")
