Category Sports News

The US immigration department, which has been working on two fatal shootings in Minneapolis, has announced that it is sending agents to support US security during the Winter Olympics, which will begin in Italy on February 6.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed the agency’s role after reports that sparked concern and resentment in Italy.

The city’s mayor, Beppe Sala, stated on Tuesday that “this is a militia that kills… they’re not welcome in Milan.”

Italian media was previously informed by US embassy sources in Rome that various federal agencies had previously participated in previous Games, though it was not clear if the customs and enforcement agency had also.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the agency stated that “HSI is working with the US Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and the host country to identify and reduce risks from transnational criminal organizations.”

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Pantedosi said: “I don’t see what the problem is and it’s very normal. It’s very normal. I don’t see what the problem is and it’s very normal.

However, the outcry in Italy over the presence of officers from the same US federal agency increased as the images from Minneapolis’s circulation increased.

Two reporters for the Italian public broadcaster Rai were threatened by ICE officials as they drove around the city on Saturday morning after Alex Pretti was shot by federal agents on the streets of Minneapolis.

Attilio Fontana, the governor of the Lombardy region, suggested that ICE agents would be stationed in Italy to protect US Vice President JD Vance and Marco Rubio, the region’s governor.

Political opponents of right-wing leader Giorgia Meloni, including Barbara Floridia, a member of the Five Stars, warned that the government’s continued silence on the subject would “show more of cowardice and subservience toward Donald Trump.”

Since then, the interior minister has taken a stronger position, saying that “ICE will undoubtedly not operate on Italian national territory.”

He claimed that the Italian state had provided security to the US without providing a list of security personnel.

Milan’s center-left mayor had mixed feelings.

The US immigration department, which has been working on two fatal shootings in Minneapolis, has announced that it is sending agents to support US security during the Winter Olympics, which will begin in Italy on February 6.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed the agency’s role after reports that sparked concern and resentment in Italy.

The city’s mayor, Beppe Sala, stated on Tuesday that “this is a militia that kills… they’re not welcome in Milan.”

Italian media was previously informed by US embassy sources in Rome that various federal agencies had previously participated in previous Games, though it was not clear if the customs and enforcement agency had also.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the agency stated that “HSI is working with the US Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and the host country to identify and reduce risks from transnational criminal organizations.”

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Pantedosi said: “I don’t see what the problem is and it’s very normal. It’s very normal. I don’t see what the problem is and it’s very normal.

However, the outcry in Italy over the presence of officers from the same US federal agency increased as the images from Minneapolis’s circulation increased.

Two reporters for the Italian public broadcaster Rai were threatened by ICE officials as they drove around the city on Saturday morning after Alex Pretti was shot by federal agents on the streets of Minneapolis.

Attilio Fontana, the governor of the Lombardy region, suggested that ICE agents would be stationed in Italy to protect US Vice President JD Vance and Marco Rubio, the region’s governor.

Political opponents of right-wing leader Giorgia Meloni, including Barbara Floridia, a member of the Five Stars, warned that the government’s continued silence on the subject would “show more of cowardice and subservience toward Donald Trump.”

Since then, the interior minister has taken a stronger position, saying that “ICE will undoubtedly not operate on Italian national territory.”

He claimed that the Italian state had provided security to the US without providing a list of security personnel.

Milan’s center-left mayor had mixed feelings.

The US immigration agency whose officers have been involved in two fatal shootings in Minneapolis has said it is sending agents to help support American security operations during the Winter Olympics, which start in Italy on 6 February.

Confirmation of the agency’s role came from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), after reports prompted alarm and anger in Italy.

“This is a militia that kills… of course they’re not welcome in Milan,” the city’s mayor, Beppe Sala, told Italian radio on Tuesday.

US embassy sources in Rome had already explained to Italian media that various federal agencies had worked at previous Games in the past, although it was not clear if the customs and enforcement agency had itself taken part.

The agency’s statement on Tuesday explained that “ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is supporting the US Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and host nation to vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organisations”.

Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Pantedosi had initially appeared unaware that US immigration officials would be coming to the Milan-Cortina Olympics and said even if they were, foreign delegations could choose their own security, saying: “I don’t see what the problem is and it’s very normal.”

But as shock at the images emanating from Minneapolis grew, so did the outcry in Italy that officers from the same US federal agency could appear on Italian streets.

In the aftermath of Alex Pretti being shot on the streets of Minneapolis by federal agents on Saturday morning, two journalists for Italian public broadcaster Rai were threatened by ICE officials as the reporters drove around the city covering the agency’s actions.

The governor of Lombardy region, Attilio Fontana, sought to calm the situation, suggesting that ICE agents would be deployed in Italy to protect US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Political opponents of right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, such as Five Star Senator Barbara Floridia, warned that continued government silence on the issue would provide “yet more evidence of cowardice and subservience towards Donald Trump”.

The interior minister has since taken a stronger stand, maintaining on Monday that “ICE will certainly not operate on Italian national territory”.

The US had not communicated a list of security personnel, and security was guaranteed by the Italian state, he said.

The centre-left mayor of Milan was unimpressed.