Trump Sparks Outrage With Secret Plan to Send ICE to Olympics
Trump faces backlash over a reported ICE role at the Winter Olympics, fueling Olympic security controversy as Italy denies and confirms involvement amid protests.
The administration of President Donald Trump has sparked outrage over a secret plan to send ICE agents to provide security for the U.S. delegation at next month's Winter Olympics.
Italian government officials initially denied, then confirmed, and then again denied a Saturday report in the left-leaning Italian daily Il Fatto Quotidiano that ICE would be supporting local law enforcement at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics and Paralympics from February 6 to March 15.
The plan comes as an ICE agent shot and killed Renée Nicole Good, a mother of three in Minneapolis, and a Border Patrol officer shot and killed Veterans Affairs nurse Alex Pretty, both 37 years old. ICE has instructed its agents to enter homes without warrants, detained off-duty police officers of color, and arrested a 5-year-old boy.
The Italian newspaper report has sparked anger, confusion, petitions, and demands that Trump's "thugs" not be allowed to set foot in Italy.
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In a statement to The Daily Beast, Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin confirmed that ICE would be assisting Italy during the Olympic Games.
“Obviously, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries,” McLaughlin said. “At the Olympics, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations is assisting the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service and the host country in investigating and mitigating risks from international criminal organizations. All security operations will remain under the authority of Italian officials.”
Initially, Italy’s conservative government, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a close ally of Trump, denied knowing anything about ICE’s involvement in the Olympic Games.
“We are not aware of this at this stage,” Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi told reporters on Sunday, adding that even if it were true, it would be normal for Olympic delegations to choose their own security. Then on Monday, Attilio Fontana, president of the Lombardy region where Milan is located, told reporters that ICE would be part of the security detail for Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The two 2028 presidential hopefuls are expected to represent the U.S. at the opening ceremony of the games at Milan's San Siro stadium on February 6.
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"This is a completely separate issue that has nothing to do with our country," Fontana insisted, adding that ICE's mission would be limited to protecting Vance and Rubio. He further stated, "I'm absolutely certain nothing will happen."
However, shortly afterward, the Lombardy region issued a statement saying that Fontana had not confirmed ICE's presence at the Olympic events and was merely speculating.
The Interior Ministry also issued a statement denying that ICE would be operating in Italy.
"To date, no cooperation agreement has been signed for the Olympics," ministry sources told La Repubblica, the country's largest daily newspaper.
All of this comes as thousands of people have signed a petition on Change.org demanding that ICE agents be denied entry to the Olympics, while opposition lawmakers have called for ICE to be kept out of Italy entirely.
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Democratic Party Senator Francesco Boccia told La Repubblica that the prospect of ICE agents in Italy is "disturbing."
Other members of parliament described ICE as an unregulated militia.
"ICE is an unprepared, violent, and uncontrollable militia. It should not set foot in Italy," Italian Senator Carlo Calenda wrote on Facebook.
Italian MP Nicola Fratoianni, a progressive member of the Chamber of Deputies, also demanded that Trump's "thugs" not be allowed into Italy. Fratoianni said in a statement, "We cannot allow heavily armed killers, who have also threatened Italian journalists, to operate as law enforcement officers on Italian soil without knowing how and where they should operate, and with what powers or jurisdiction."
On Sunday, ICE agents reportedly threatened an Italian journalist from the state broadcaster RAI, who was filming a segment in Minneapolis.
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