US ICE Agents to Provide Security for Italian Winter Olympics

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agents to Support Security at 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics

The 2026 Milano Cortino Winter Olympics are scheduled to begin on February 6. According to a spokesperson for ICE, the agency’s Homeland Security Investigations unit will be providing support to US security operations during the Games in Italy.

ICE’s role is to assist the US Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and the host nation in vetting and mitigating risks from transnational criminal organizations. The agency has stated that all security operations remain under Italian authority, and that ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries.

The involvement of ICE agents at the Games has sparked debate in Italy, following recent controversy surrounding immigration crackdowns in Minneapolis. US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are scheduled to attend the opening ceremony on February 6.

According to Attilio Fontana, president of the northern Lombardy region hosting several Olympic events, ICE’s involvement will be limited to monitoring Vance and Rubio in a defensive role. However, his office later clarified that he was responding to a hypothetical question and did not have any information on their presence.

The deployment of thousands of ICE agents by President Donald Trump has led to widespread protests and outrage over the recent killings of US citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. The 2028 Summer Olympics will be hosted by the United States, with the Games scheduled for Los Angeles.

Source: Al Jazeera