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.
An ICE spokesperson stressed that “all security operations remain under Italian authority”.
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.
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.”
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.
Ok seriously, why does immigration and customs enforcement have any security role dealing with the president and vice president? They are not law enforcement, they are fancy border guards.
The answer of course is that these fuckers took a smaller, already aggressive force and funded it to the fucking moon. It’s their secret police now, clearly after MPLS it’s obvious.
really is the modern gestapo.
Guess who’s going to ‘protect’ voting booths next election.
Guess who isn’t gonna start a revolution? Trump for a life I guess.
The secret service would be the obvious choice but they must respect the constitution too much for trump’s liking. /s
Wait - I’ve seen all these headlines today and wondered why we’re talking about the Olympics… But it didn’t occur to me that the US has the summer Olympics in 2 years, definitely not winter. I can’t even imagine what stupidity is being used to justify sending ICE to any other country.
Training purposes would be legitimate considering they’ll definitely be part of the summer Olympics security. Just because they’re fascist assholes doesn’t mean we need to lose our ability to see logic.
In 1936 the US sent a black man to the nazi Olympics, who promptly won gold and made a fool of Hitler. In 2026, the US sends nazis to the Olympics to… what, make a fool of the US?
And in 2028, the US expects us all to show up at their own nazi Olympics?
Speaking as an American, I hope the rest of the world boycotts all events taking place here until we get our shit together
This is gonna suck for the athletes. Olympic games being every 4 years (winter doesn’t really count if you’re track and field and summer doesn’t really count if you’re a cross country skier) and it’s the most prestigious event out there for most disciplines (not football I guess), so your sponsorship deals are very dependent on it. I don’t think many athletes out there are in a position to say no when they get a shot at the olympics, even if it’s their 3rd time or something.
You’re right about this. We do still have two more years, who knows what will be happening then. The last year has felt like a lifetime.
The World Cup starts in June, though…
Italian people, do some pranking of your own and deport them.
They can just not grant them work visas and then when they’re caught “working”, lock them in a detention centre until they die of “natural causes”.
To some country they’ve never been to.
Send them to Russia, Putin them to work.
These dickheads love to cosplay, I think they’ll love it
Sending russia criminals proficient with guns is like donating a whole new unit of spetznaz
I think you overestimate ICEs proficiency with guns. They also are American so they would be sent to the front line as meat shields.
They are not proficient with guns. Anyone can fire wildly at point blank and hit someone if they have enough bullets.
The Italian police wont allow that because of pressure from the US and Meloni who likes Trump.
Yep. And Italy has a shit load of fascist sympathizers, especially in the north. If ice shows up, nothing would happen.
This would be genuinely an excellent prank
So an agency whose self described purpose is to remove unwanted people from the country will go to a place they are not wanted?
That tracks.
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.
Well now hold on a second. ICE is going to be protecting Vance and Rubio, and ICE is also utterly incompetent, so maybe let’s see how this plays out
Well well, some very lucky ICE agents moving up in the world - first they were just Gestapo but now they’re graduating to full SS.
SS is the Secret Service right, right?
Yes, but also no. I think @pulsewidth is being cheeky as both uses of the abbreviation apply.
I hear there are a lot of Luigis there.
Fuck, I hope they use their phones.
The US is entitled to bring their own security forces, as fucking dumb as it is.
Neither ICE, nor CBP are security forces. Neither would be there operating in their official role. This is not USSS, or FBI, or even military. These are two agencies whose job it is supposed to be to deal with customs and immigration issues within the confines of the US.
Italy really should tell them to get fucked.
I suppose they’re afraid their athletes might run away, something North Korea is usually accused of.
The only place where ICE should be in Italy, is in piazzale Loreto, upside down.
Just because the US says something doesn’t make it true. ICE has fuck all authority in Italy, same as any US law or regime
ICE agents would be deployed in Italy to protect US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Is the US Secret Service not good enough any more?
Maybe because ICE is more beholden to the party than the Secret Sevice is
They only trust their very own goons.
Would you trust them if you were them?
I mean, why not?
Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, Roosevelt Kennedy, Regan, Trump’s ear.
“we have to be lucky only once, you have to be lucky always”
Just arrest them on the spot, stuff them into vehicles and whisk them away to secret facilities without due process.
Simple. And Meal Team 6 would understand why it was necessary, and so would cooperate completely. /s
This stuff have to end, this just a sport event and anyy type of ICE is not ok.
It’s the winter Olympics though. Some ice is acceptable.
I see what you did there, good one!
Seriously we all saw what happened in 94. /S
God damn it, Tonya!
Can’t dismiss the vibes that it’s like parents taking their favorite children to Disneyland for acing homework, an entertaining and educational trip to the land origin of fascism.
Such a shame that athletes who never planned for that can get booed for being from the US, but if nothing else, Olympics is one of the best places and times to find a better team and country.
