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With less than One week left until the start Winter Olympics Milan Cortina 2026 In Italy, the topic that makes the headlines is not sports. It’s security. For days, the Italian government, the city of Milan, embassies and consulates have been trying to respond to public protests in the wake of reports about the presence of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Games while the agency was planting. chaos, violenceand death In the United States.
Last week, the US Department of Homeland Security He confirmed to the New York Times ICE will accompany a US delegation to the Games. They will work, according to a statement attributed to Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin, with the State Department team “to examine and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organizations” and not to conduct immigration enforcement.
US officials claim that such security measures are common at the Games, and stressed that Italy will be responsible for security. Still, in the wake of a recent shooting death Alex Pretty and Renee Nicole Good At the hands of American immigration agents, the Italians were disturbed by the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Milan’s mayor, Giuseppe Sala, went so far as to tell a local radio station that the agents were “Not welcome“In the city.
Other Italian officials were not as clear. Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantidosi He claimed He knew nothing about ICE’s presence in Milan but emphasized that he saw nothing wrong with it. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a frequent Trump ally, has so far remained silent.
on saturday, Hundreds gathered In Milan’s Piazza XXV Aprile to protest the presence of ICE at the Games, carrying banners reading “There is no ice in Milan“The ice is out now.”
ICE will not work with Italian law enforcement, which has promised more than 6,000 personnel in the events, but will instead protect the US contingent, which includes Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. In other words, they were likely ICE agents, not clients Military masks and equipment.
ICE is not the only controversial security force in Italy for the Olympics. On January 27, a cargo plane arrived carrying more than 100 Qatari public security officers, 20 camouflaged SUVs, and three snowmobiles. landed At Malpensa Airport in Milan. After arriving, the SUVs made their way to the city centre, passing through Piazza Duomo and San Siro, where the opening ceremony will be held on Friday.