Headline Roundup • January 28th, 2026
ICE Agents Being Deployed to the Winter Olympics, Sparking Dismay Among Milan Leaders
Summary from the AllSides News Team
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are being deployed to the Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, sparking dismay among local leaders.
The Details: Officials are saying that Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), ICE's investigative arm, will be assisting with security for U.S. diplomats during the Olympics, as they have before, and that no immigration enforcement operations will take place. Milan's leaders, however, are speaking out against the deployment of ICE, and several current and former Italian lawmakers are calling on Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to ban the agents from "participating in any official capacity."
Key Quotes: Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said, "This is a militia that kills, a militia that enters into the homes of people, signing their own permission slips. It is clear they are not welcome in Milan, without a doubt." Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said, "Let's be clear: it's not like they're coming to maintain public order in the middle of the streets. They're coming to collaborate in the operations rooms." The U.S. Department of Homeland Security posted, "Obviously, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries. At the Olympics, ICE's Homeland Security Investigations is supporting the US. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service and host nation to vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organizations. All security operations remain under Italian authority."
For Context: ICE and Border Patrol have come under scrutiny amid heightened immigration enforcement in Minnesota, where thousands of federal immigration agents have been deployed.
How the Media Covered It: Several media sources on the left emphasized Italian anger, saying Italian officials were "outraged" and "furious." While the story was covered less on the right, some media sources on the right and center simply reported news of the decision to send ICE to Milan.
Written by the AllSides staff (of humans). Learn more. Suggest an improvement to this summary.
Featured Coverage of this Story
AFP via Getty Images
ICE agents are set to deploy to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy — and it's causing an uproar from residents of the host country.
But the Department of Homeland Security was quick to set the record straight. ICE agents are there to support other US federal agencies that are running security of the high profile games.
"Obviously, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries," DHS said, responding to reports about ICE's involvement in Milan.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are expected to travel to Italy to assist with security during the Winter Olympics, sparking dismay among Milan's leaders Tuesday.
Attilio Fontana, president of Italy's Lombardy region, said Monday that ICE agents would serve as bodyguards to U.S. Vice President JD Vance and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio during the Olympics, The Guardian reported.
A statement from ICE, confirmed by the U.S. Embassy in Rome, said the U.S. agency wouldn't be in charge of any enforcement operations in Italy during the Olympics.
"At...
A growing number of Italian politicians are pushing back against a plan for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to help provide security at the Milan Winter Olympics.
U.S. Homeland Security officials have provided assistance at past Olympic Games, but critics including Milan's mayor say after the violence in Minneapolis, ICE agents are no longer welcome.
"This is a militia that kills, a militia that enters into the homes of people, signing their own permission slips," Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala told local media. "It is clear they are not...
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