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Criticism is growing in Italy over the deployment of ICE agents, shown in the US state of Minneapolis, on January 13, at the Winter Olympics in Milan next month. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)
By Sana Noor Haq, Barbie Latza Nadeau, Antonia Mortensen, Karina Tsui, CNN
(CNN) — Outrage is growing in Italy over the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to assist US security operations at the Winter Olympics next month –something US officials say has been common practice at previous Olympics.
Current and former lawmakers urged Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to intervene and block their presence in the wake of two fatal shootingsduring Trump’s ongoing immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.
The former Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte urged the country’s government to “set our own limits” and “make clear decisions,” following increasingly aggressive tactics by the agency in the US.
“After street violence and murders in the US… We cannot allow this,” Conte posted on X on Tuesday. “Enough with the bowing,” he added.
Officials in Washington and US diplomats in Rome sought to clarify ICE agents’ role at the Games.
ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations, a division of the agency, will serve “a security role” at the Olympics, a spokesperson from the US Department of Homeland Security confirmed to CNN Tuesday. “They don’t do immigration enforcement (operations) in a foreign country obviously,” the spokesperson added.
After meeting with Italy’s interior minister Tuesday, the US ambassador to Italy, Tilman Fertitta, said HSI’s role will be “strictly advisory and intelligence-based, with no patrolling or enforcement involvement.”
Federal agencies have supported the security of US diplomats at previous Olympics, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a State Department spokesperson told CNN.
The State Department said its Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) is leading the US security effort in Milan.
“At the Olympics, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations is supporting the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and host nation to vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organizations,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told CNN in a statement. “All security operations remain under Italian authority,” she added.
The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee emphasized in a statement to CNN that it does not work with “US domestic law enforcement or immigration agencies in the planning or execution of the Games,” including ICE.
‘A militia that kills’
Over the weekend, Italian media reports of ICE’s deployment to the northern city of Milan drew criticism and prompted petitions, amid increased scrutiny over the jurisdiction and force leveraged by immigration officers in the US.
The Mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, declared that authorities “don’t need ICE” to implement security at the Olympics, telling local radio, “They’re not welcome in Milan.”
“This is a militia that kills,” Sala told Italian radio station RTL 102.5 on Tuesday. “Could we ever say ‘No’ to Trump? This isn’t about severing relations or creating a diplomatic incident, but could we say ‘No?’”
“I believe they shouldn’t come to Italy because they don’t guarantee they’re aligned with our democratic security management methods,” added Sala.
Another Italian lawmaker warned ICE agents “must not set foot in Italy.” “It is a violent, unprepared, and out-of-control militia,” Carlo Calenda, a veteran politician, told RTL 102.5 on Tuesday.
In recent weeks, ICE federal law enforcement agents killed two US citizens in the city of Minneapolis – against the backdrop of intensified protests demanding a halt to sweeping immigration raids by the White House.
Several Americans living in Milan reacted to the move by US authorities with incredulity, expressing concern over their country’s reputation on the world stage under US President Donald Trump’s domestic and foreign policy agenda. They spoke to CNN under the condition of anonymity, for fear of retaliation.
“I’m so confused, why on earth would ICE agents come to Italy? They don’t have jurisdiction here,” one person said on Tuesday.
This story has been updated with additional information.
The-CNN-Wire
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