The U.S. ambassador to Rome said an ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) team sent to the Milan–Cortina Winter Olympics will operate only in an advisory, intelligence-gathering role and will not carry out patrols or enforcement. Ambassador Tilman J. Fertitta stressed that all operational security will remain with Italian authorities. The deployment has stoked anger and planned protests in Italy because of ICE's association with harsh immigration enforcement in the U.S. HSI will reportedly focus on transnational threats such as cybercrime, human smuggling and other cross-border criminal activity.
US Says ICE Unit Will Not Patrol at Milan–Cortina Olympics; HSI To Serve Only Advisory, Intelligence Role
Milan in northern Italy is hosting the Winter Olympics from February 6 to 22 (Piero CRUCIATTI)(Piero CRUCIATTI/AFP/AFP)
Washington's ambassador to Rome has clarified that a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) unit deployed to Italy for the Milan–Cortina Winter Olympics will not conduct patrols or enforcement activities and will operate strictly in an advisory, intelligence-gathering capacity.
Advisory Role, Not Enforcement
Ambassador Tilman J. Fertitta said the ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unit assigned to the February 6–22 Games will be "strictly advisory and intelligence-based, with no patrolling or enforcement involvement." He emphasized that all on-the-ground security operations will remain the responsibility of Italian authorities.
"At the Olympics, HSI criminal investigators will contribute their expertise by providing intelligence on transnational criminal threats, with a focus on cybercrimes and national security threats," Fertitta said after meeting Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi.
The deployment announcement has provoked public anger in Italy because ICE is associated in many people’s minds with aggressive immigration enforcement in the United States. Large-scale protests have followed past ICE operations in some U.S. cities, and the reported killings of two demonstrators at recent protests have intensified scrutiny and opposition.
Clarifying Which Units Are Involved
Fertitta noted that agents accused of violent conduct in U.S. demonstrations belong to a different ICE division than the HSI team assigned to the Games. He described HSI's remit as focusing on cross-border criminal activity, "ranging from investigating human smuggling, narcotics trafficking, and child exploitation to financial crimes, intellectual property theft, and recovering stolen art and antiquities."
Italian officials initially denied that ICE would be present at the Games and later characterized the U.S. contribution as limited support for the U.S. delegation. Political opposition in Italy has called for the deployment to be refused, and further protests are expected in Rome and Milan in the days before the opening ceremony.
Members of the U.S. delegation, including Senators JD Vance and Marco Rubio, are reported to be expected at the opening ceremony at Milan's San Siro stadium on February 6.
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