Plan for ICE brokers at 2026 Olympics causes outrage in Italy : NPR

[ad_1] <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4500x3000+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F24%2Fe6%2Fd719ce334b78b46931d02e448137%2Fgettyimages-2257804883.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4500x3000+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F24%2Fe6%2Fd719ce334b78b46931d02e448137%2Fgettyimages-2257804883.jpg" class="img" alt="Military personnel stand guard in Piazza Duomo ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Games Milan, Italy, on Monday. Agents from ICE's Homeland Security Investigations unit will also be present at the Games, sparking outrage from some Italian politicians." fetchpriority="high"/> Army personnel stand guard in Piazza Duomo forward of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Video games Milan, Italy, on Monday. Brokers from ICE's Homeland Safety Investigations unit may even be current on the Video games, sparking outrage from some Italian politicians. Piero Cruciatti/AFP through Getty Pictures disguise caption

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Piero Cruciatti/AFP through Getty Pictures A rising variety of Italian politicians are pushing again in opposition to a plan for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) brokers to assist present safety on the Milan Winter Olympics.

U.S. Homeland Safety officers have offered help at previous Olympic Video games, however critics together with Milan's mayor say after the violence in Minneapolis, ICE brokers are not welcome.

"It is a militia that kills, a militia that enters into the houses of individuals, signing their very own permission slips," Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala informed native media. "It's clear they don't seem to be welcome in Milan, undoubtedly."

It is common for U.S. regulation enforcement and intelligence companies, together with the Division of Homeland Safety, to play a task at large worldwide occasions just like the Olympics.

In an announcement to NPR, Division of Homeland Safety spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin mentioned ICE's Homeland Safety Investigations unit will help Italian authorities and different U.S. federal companies working on the Winter Video games.

"Clearly, ICE doesn't conduct immigration enforcement operations in international nations," McLaughlin mentioned. "On the Olympics, ICE's Homeland Safety Investigations is supporting the U.S. Division of State's Diplomatic Safety Service and host nation to vet and mitigate dangers from transnational felony organizations. All safety operations stay beneath Italian authority."

Talking with Italian journalists, Italy's inside minister, Matteo Piantedosi, mentioned it is not but clear what U.S. safety personnel will likely be on the Milan Cortina Video games, however he burdened that "ICE is not going to function on Italian territory."

"It isn't just like the SS are about to reach." - Italian International Minister Antonio Tajani, talking with L'Espresso

Italy's international minister Antonio Tajani, in the meantime, scrambled to comprise the controversy, saying that the ICE brokers working in Italy aren't corresponding to immigration enforcement squads. "It isn't like these are the [ICE] folks on the streets of Minneapolis," Tajani informed the Italian journal L'Espresso, including, "It isn't just like the SS are about to reach."

These reassurances have not happy many Italian politicians. Posting on X, former Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte pointed to "avenue violence and killings" within the U.S. linked to ICE. He urged Italy's authorities to dam any position for ICE brokers. "We can't permit this," Conte wrote.

The opening ceremonies for the Milan Video games are per week from Friday, with Vice President Vance and different U.S. officers anticipated to attend.

These Olympics open at a second when tensions between the Trump administration and European allies are operating excessive over a spread of points, from tariffs and Greenland to the way forward for NATO and the protection of Ukraine.