US sending ICE unit to Olympics for security, prompting concern and confusion in Italy

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is sending a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unit to support American security arrangements at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan–Cortina, and the move has triggered political backlash, public concern, and confusion in Italy.

What the U.S. is actually sending

Homeland Security Investigations is the investigative arm of ICE that focuses on transnational crime, terrorism financing, trafficking, cybercrime, and other cross‑border offenses. U.S. officials say HSI personnel will work behind the scenes with the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service and Italian authorities to vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organizations, mainly from offices and consular facilities rather than in visible street roles.

The Department of Homeland Security has emphasized that ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations abroad and that all security operations at the Olympics will remain under Italian jurisdiction.

Why Italians are alarmed

News that an “ICE unit” would be at the Games first surfaced in vague weekend reports, which did not clearly distinguish HSI from ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) branch that carries out immigration raids and deportations in the United States. Those early stories landed just as Italian media were airing video of ICE agents in Minneapolis threatening a TV crew and amid outrage over the recent fatal shootings of two protesters during U.S. immigration enforcement actions.

The association with those incidents helped fuel online petitions, social‑media campaigns, and talk‑show debates in Italy questioning why a U.S. immigration agency with such a controversial domestic record should have any role around the Olympics.

Political reaction in Italy

Milan’s mayor, Giuseppe “Beppe” Sala, has been one of the most vocal critics, calling ICE “a militia that kills” and saying the agency is not welcome in the city hosting most ice events. Opposition figures, including center‑left politicians, have warned that bringing in a force seen in Europe as heavily militarized and abusive sends the wrong message for a global celebration meant to highlight peace and international cooperation.

By contrast, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi initially downplayed the controversy, saying foreign delegations normally choose their own security teams and that he did not “see what the problem is,” though he also stressed that foreign agents are barred from carrying out immigration enforcement or general policing on Italian soil. After the backlash grew, he summoned the U.S. ambassador to seek clarification and later reiterated that ICE agents will have “no external public order function” during the Games.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has also tried to calm tensions, saying the officers coming to Italy will be functionaries linked to anti‑terrorism work, “not those with machine guns and faces covered,” and that Italian police remain solely responsible for public order.

U.S. justification and historical context

American officials argue that having HSI on the ground is consistent with past practice at global events where multiple U.S. agencies support security for American athletes, dignitaries, and diplomatic sites, particularly against terrorism and organized crime threats. DHS and ICE spokespeople insist the agents’ role is narrowly focused—intelligence‑sharing, vetting, and coordination with Italian authorities—not street patrols, immigration checks, or crowd control.

Even with those reassurances, the optics of deploying an agency closely associated with Donald Trump’s hard‑line immigration policies and recent deadly incidents at home have turned what U.S. officials see as a technical security decision into a political flashpoint for the Milan–Cortina Olympics.