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US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will reportedly play a security role during the Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina, Italy.
U.S. Embassy officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday that ICE agents would support diplomatic security clearances and would not conduct any immigration enforcement operations.
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Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, including one wearing a ‘NOT ICE’ face covering, walk near their vehicles Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Richfield, Minnesota. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Pakinomist Digital reached out to ICE for comment.
Federal agencies have previously supported security for U.S. diplomats, including the investigative component of ICE called Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) during past Olympic Games, officials told The Associated Press.
But ICE’s reported involvement in security did not receive a warm welcome from Italian officials.
Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said ICE would not be welcome in the city, citing images of masked agents in Minneapolis. Milan will host most of the events during the Olympics, which start on February 6.
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Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala attends the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics cauldron lighting in front of the Quirinale Presidential Palace in Rome, Friday, December 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)
“This is a militia that kills, a militia that goes into people’s homes and signs their own permission slips. It is clear that they are not welcome in Milan, no doubt,” Sala told RTL Radio 102 before ICE’s reported security involvement was revealed.
But Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said Saturday that while he had no information that ICE would be at the Olympics, he did not “see what the problem would be,” according to the ANSA news agency.
Olympic rings are displayed in the snow at the Stelvio Ski Center, the venue for alpine skiing and ski mountaineering disciplines at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina in Bormio, Italy, January 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)
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Vice President JD Vance will lead an American delegation to attend the opening ceremony. Second Lady Usha Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are expected to be part of the contingent.
