Aversion to what is happening in the United States with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), the controversial Immigration and Customs Control Service, which has already killed two protesters in Minneapolis, has unexpectedly erupted in Italy. As revealed by the newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano last Saturday, agents from this police force will be in Italy during the upcoming Winter Olympics, which begin on February 6 in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, to carry out security duties within the US sports delegation. This is not the first time, and it has happened at other events of this kind, but the political connotations of this police force have changed, and its presence in Italy has triggered a heated controversy in just a few days.
Adding to the controversy is the fact that it caught Giorgia Meloni’s government by surprise, given the unpopularity of Donald Trump’s policies in Italy, while she herself is his main ally in Europe and is increasingly criticized for her routine acquiescence to the magnate.
The Italian government initially denied the arrival of ICE, then said that even if it did happen, nothing would happen, and finally saw the federal agency itself admit it in an official statement on Tuesday: “At the Olympic Games, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) will support the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, as well as the host country, in assessing and mitigating risks related to transnational crime.”
“Obviously, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries,” explained HSI Deputy Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, who emphasized that all security matters “remain under Italian authority.” In other words, he has been quick to clarify that he will not engage in what is done in the US in its violent interventions.
