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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would play a security role at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy.
U.S. Embassy officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday that ICE agents would support diplomatic security details and would not direct any immigration enforcement operations.
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Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, including one wearing a “NOT ICE” face covering, walk by their vehicles, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Richfield, Minnesota. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
PK Press Club Digital has contacted ICE for comment.
Federal agencies have previously supported the security of U.S. diplomats, including ICE’s investigative arm called Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) during previous Olympics, officials told The Associated Press.
But ICE’s reported involvement in security has not received a warm reception from Italian officials.
Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said ICE would not be welcome in the city, citing images of masked agents in Minneapolis. Milan is scheduled to host most Olympic Games events starting February 6.
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Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala attends the lighting of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics cauldron, in front of the Quirinale presidential palace, in Rome, Friday, December 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, file)
“It’s a militia that kills, a militia that enters people’s homes by signing their own permits. It’s clear that they are not welcome in Milan, without a doubt,” Sala told RTL Radio 102 before ICE’s security involvement was revealed.
However, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said on Saturday that although he did not have information that ICE would be present at the Olympics, he did not “see what the problem would be”, according to the ANSA news agency.
The Olympic rings are on display in the snow at the Stelvio Ski Center, site of the alpine skiing and ski mountaineering disciplines at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in Bormio, Italy, January 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, file)
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Vice President JD Vance is expected to lead a U.S. delegation to attend the opening ceremony. Second lady Usha Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are expected to be among the contingent.
