Italians were angry Tuesday after news that the US was sending ICE agents to the Winter Olympics in Italy.
The announcement reportedly set off confusion after the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that the unit was heading to Europe to apparently work as "a security role" for the US delegation at the international event, a DHS spokesperson confirmed with CNN.
“They don’t do immigration enforcement (operations) in a foreign country obviously,” the spokesperson said.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told CNN that “All security operations remain under Italian authority.”
“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,” McLaughlin said in a statement to CNN.
The move set off outrage among Italians, citing major concern among the Europeans who have watched ICE attack and kill US citizens, including the most recent fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis.
Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said he would not welcome ICE in his city, which is set to host the opening ceremony on Feb. 6, according to The Associated Press. Vice President JD Vance was expected to attend the event in Milan, where most of the ice sports will be.
“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.