ICE officials to play security role at Milan Cortina Olympics

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will reportedly play a security role during the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy.

U.S. Embassy officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday that ICE agents would support diplomatic security details and wouldn’t run any immigration enforcement operations.

“Obviously, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statment. 

“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. All security operations remain under Italian authority.”

Federal agencies have previously supported security for U.S. diplomats, including the investigative component for ICE called Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) during previous Olympic Games, officials told The Associated Press.

But ICE’s reported involvement in security didn’t receive a warm welcome from Italian officials.

Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said ICE wouldn’t be welcome in the city as he cited images of masked agents in Minneapolis. Milan is set to host most of the events during the Olympics starting on Feb. 6.

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“This is a militia that kills, a militia that enters into the homes of people, signing their own permission slips. It is clear they are not welcome in Milan, without a doubt,” Sala told RTL Radio 102 before ICE’s reported security involvement was revealed.

However, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said Saturday, while he didn’t have information that ICE would be at the Olympics, he didn’t “see what the problem would be,” according to ANSA news agency.

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Vice President JD Vance is set to lead an American delegation to attend the opening ceremony. Second lady Usha Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are expected to be a part of the contingent.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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