Protests held over US agency ICE's role at Olympics
Assurances that security plans for the Milano–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will keep a United States investigative agency in a strictly advisory role, confined to diplomatic offices and "not on the ground", have failed to quell criticism over its involvement.
The news that the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, agency will be deployed at the Games, which open on Friday, has provoked anger in Italy, given agents' involvement in the on-going US immigration crackdown.
Last week's announcement that ICE agents would provide security-related support drew protests from Italy's left-wing parties, and demonstrators have displayed "ICE OUT" placards at the regional council of Lombardy, where the Games are taking place.
An anti-ICE protest was held over the weekend, and the hard-left USB union has scheduled a rally in central Milan on Friday to coincide with the opening ceremony.
On Wednesday, the US Ambassador to Italy Tilman J. Fertitta confirmed ICE agents would only provide intelligence on transnational threats, with "no patrolling or enforcement involvement".
Italy's Interior Ministry also stressed that "all security operations on Italian territory remain, as always, under the exclusive responsibility and direction of the Italian authorities".
Last week the mayor of Milan denounced the proposed involvement of ICE agents in any security operations at the Games.
Speaking to the Italian radio station RTL, Mayor of Milan Giuseppe Sala condemned any role for ICE, calling it "a militia that kills, that enters people's homes by signing its own warrants", and declaring the agency "not welcome in Milan".
Cooperation on security is common at major international events involving high profile foreign delegations, and competing nations often bring their own security personnel.
A statement from ICE said: "At the Olympics, ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is supporting the US 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."
Critics in Italy have pointed to ICE's domestic record and questioned the optics and necessity of involving the US agency in an international sporting event.
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani confirmed security will be handled solely by the national police, the Carabinieri military police, and the finance police, known as the Guardia di Finanza.
Tajani told reporters that the ICE agents who were coming were not "those with machine guns and their faces covered... they're coming because it's the department responsible for counter-terrorism".
Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said security for the Games, which run through Feb 22, will include a first ever 24/7 cybersecurity control room, and deploy about 6,000 officers across sites with no fly and restricted access zones.
About 3,500 athletes will compete, with around 2 million visitors expected, and roughly 60,000 are due to attend the opening ceremony at Milan's San Siro stadium on Friday.
jonathan@mail.chinadailyuk.com
