'A militia that kills': uproar in Italy over ICE security role at Winter Olympics [View all]

Source: The Guardian

[snip]

Speculation in Italy over ICE’s involvement in the games, which begin on 6 February, had been brewing for days and mounted further on Monday after the president of Lombardy region, Attilio Fontana, said on Monday that the US vice-president, JD Vance, and secretary of state, Marco Rubio, would be protected by ICE “bodyguards” at the Olympics.

The speculation fuelled outrage in Italy over ICE’s immigration operations, especially after the fatal shootings this month of the US citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

The daily newspaper La Repubblica claimed Italy’s far-right government, which has nurtured friendly relations with Donald Trump’s administration, had briefly looked into blocking the participation of ICE agents in the delegation, but that would have required a departure from how US officials are usually protected during similar high-profile visits abroad.

Milan’s mayor, Giuseppe Sala, told RTL radio that the agents would not be welcome in the city “because they don’t guarantee they’re aligned with our democratic security management methods”.




Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/27/italy-ice-security-role-winter-olympics