ICE and Qatari Security Forces at the Winter Olympics Put Italians on Edge

With little than a week to spell until the commencement of the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics successful Italy, the taxable making headlines isn’t sports. It’s security. For days, the Italian government, the metropolis of Milan, embassies, and consulates person been trying to respond to nationalist outcry pursuing reports astir the beingness of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) astatine the Games arsenic the bureau sows chaos, violence, and decease successful the US.

Last week, the US Department of Homeland Security confirmed to The New York Times that ICE would travel a US delegation to the Games. They would, according to a connection attributed to DHS adjunct caput for nationalist affairs Tricia McLaughlin, beryllium moving with a State Department squad “to vet and mitigate risks from transnational transgression organizations” and not to behaviour migration enforcement.

US officials assertion specified information measures are communal for the Games and stressed that Italy would beryllium successful complaint of security. Still, pursuing the caller shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good astatine the hands of US migration agents, Italians were upset implicit ICE’s presence. Milan’s mayor, Giuseppe Sala, went truthful acold arsenic to archer a section vigor presumption that agents were “not welcome” successful the city.

Other Italian officials weren’t arsenic unequivocal. Italy’s interior minister, Matteo Piantedosi, claimed helium knew thing astir ICE’s beingness successful Milan but stressed that helium saw thing incorrect with it. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a predominant Trump ally, has frankincense acold remained silent.

On Saturday, hundreds gathered successful Milan’s Piazza XXV Aprile to protestation ICE’s beingness astatine the Games, carrying signs speechmaking “No ICE successful Milano” and “ICE Out Now.”

ICE won’t beryllium moving with Italian instrumentality enforcement, which has promised to person much than 6,000 unit astatine the events, but volition alternatively beryllium moving to support the US contingent, which includes Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Put different way, they’re apt to beryllium suit-and-tie ICE operatives, not agents successful masks and subject gear.

ICE isn’t the lone arguable information unit successful Italy for the Olympics. On January 27, a cargo level with much than a 100 Qatari nationalist information officers, 20 camouflage SUVs, and 3 snowmobiles landed astatine Milan’s Malpensa Airport. Following their arrival, the SUVs made their mode to the metropolis center, driving past Piazza Duomo and San Siro, wherever the opening ceremonial volition beryllium held connected Friday.