US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will be on the ground in Milan and Cortina throughout the Winter Olympics, despite furious backlash both home and abroad.
ICE agents will reportedly play ‘security role’ throughout the sporting extravaganza, which begins on February 6 in Italy, the US Embassy in Rome reportedly confirmed to the Associated Press.
The federal ICE agents will reportedly support diplomatic security details and would not run any immigration enforcement operations.
However, ICE’s presence at the games has sparked controversy amid growing unrest back in the United States, which has been building after agents moved in to Minnesota on the orders of the Trump administration.
The news came on Tuesday as the United States is still reeling from the deaths of two American citizens at the hands of federal officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota in less than three weeks.
Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, was shot and killed after a struggle with federal agents on Saturday after he allegedly confronted officers during a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) operation in the city.
US ICE agents will be on the ground in Milan and Cortina throughout the Winter Olympics
ICE agents will reportedly play ‘security role’ throughout the sporting extravaganza
His death came just two weeks after 37-year-old Renee Good was fatally shot in her car by an Immigration and Customs (ICE) officer.
Their deaths have sparked a political firestorm throughout the US, and the agents seemingly will equally not be well received in Italy.
Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said that ICE would not be welcome in his city, which is hosting most ice sports during the February 6-22 Winter Games.
‘This is a militia that kills, a militia that enters into the homes of people, signing their own permission slips. It is clear they are not welcome in Milan, without a doubt,’ Sala told RTL Radio 102 before ICE’s deployment to the Games was confirmed.
During previous Olympics, several federal agencies have supported security for U.S. diplomats, including the investigative component of ICE called Homeland Security Investigations, sources told The AP. They could not be named because they are not authorized to speak publicly.
ICE’s role had been reported over the weekend by the Italian daily il Fatto Quotidiano, prompting conflicting statements from Italian authorities who did not want to appear to confirm the agency’s role.
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said Saturday he had not received confirmation of ICE’s deployment, but added that ‘I don’t see what the problem would be,” the news agency ANSA reported.
The Interior Ministry on Tuesday repeated that the US has not confirmed the makeup of its security detail but insisted that ‘at the moment there are no indications that ICE USA will act as an escort to the American delegation.’
Alex Jeffrey Pretti was gunned down during a struggle with federal agents in Minneapolis
Video shows agents wrestling with Pretti and taking him to the ground before he was shot
Super Bowl LX will take place on February 8th at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California
US Vice President JD Vance will lead a delegation attending the opening ceremony. The delegation will also include second lady Usha Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the White House announced earlier this month.
Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that ICE agents will be present at Super Bowl LX on February 8 with no plans to scale back its presence despite the current political unrest.
‘DHS is committed to working with our local and federal partners to ensure the Super Bowl is safe for everyone involved, as we do with every major sporting event, including the World Cup,’ Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told TMZSports on Monday.
‘Our mission remains unchanged. Those who are here legally and are not breaking other laws have nothing to fear,’ the statement continued.
‘We will not disclose future operations or discuss personnel. Super Bowl security will entail a whole of government response conducted in-line with the U.S. Constitution.’
The bloodshed in Minnesota has sparked a wave of ‘ICE OUT’ protests across the country, with demonstrators demanding federal agents be pulled from American cities.
With the Super Bowl less than two weeks way, local Santa Clara officials are now bracing for potential clashes near Levi’s Stadium.
