After weeks of coverage in Minnesota of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) implementing the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, the Department of Homeland Security said an ICE unit will deploy to Italy for the Winter Olympics.
ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division (HSI) will be there to support the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service at the Milano-Cortina Olympic Games, the Department of Homeland Security said in a post on social media.
The news of an ICE unit’s presence for the Games, which begin Feb. 6, angered some Italians, including Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala, who said that ICE would not be welcome in his city, which is hosting the opening ceremony, as well as most ice sports.
“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,” Sala told RTL Radio.
It turns out, it’s not unusual for ICE to play a role in security for U.S. delegations overseas.
Who exactly is going?
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a unit within ICE that focuses on cross-border crimes, frequently sends its officers to overseas events to assist with security.
HSI officers are separate from the ICE arm at the forefront of the immigration crackdowns currently being undertaken in U.S. cities — known as Enforcement and Removal Operations — and there is no indication ERO officers are being sent to Italy.
Is sending them to Olympics new?
It is not new.
ICE has been present at major sports events in both the U.S. and abroad in the past, including at previous Olympic Games, as part of international partnerships related to human trafficking and drug trafficking, Jason Houser, who served as ICE chief of staff under former U.S. president Joe Biden, said in an interview with Reuters.
But it’s clear that the recent fatal shootings in Minneapolis of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti during immigration crackdowns have raised people’s awareness of ICE — and concerns about its presence — outside of the U.S.
When reports surfaced last weekend in Italy that ICE would be deployed in some capacity during the Olympics, online petitions were started by small opposition parties to gather support among people opposed to its presence at the Milano-Cortina Games.
A flash mob protest against ICE presence at the Winter Olympics was held Thursday in front of the U.S. Embassy in Rome. (Valentina Stefanelli/LaPresse/The Associated Press )
What exactly will the HSI unit be doing?
Italy’s Interior Ministry says that the HSI investigators will be stationed at a control room in the U.S. Consulate in Milan, working in a support role with other U.S. law enforcement agencies.
Agents from HSI are commonly stationed in embassies around the world to facilitate their investigations and build relations with local law enforcement in those countries. They conduct investigations into anything that has a cross-border element to it, from human smuggling to fentanyl trafficking to smuggling of cultural artifacts.
The ICE agents deployed to Italy for the Milano-Cortina Games will have a different role from the one seen in immigration crackdowns in the U.S., officials have stressed.
“Obviously, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries,″ the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Tuesday.
“At the Olympics, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations is supporting the U.S. 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.”
A Carabiniere paramilitary police officer patrols the entrance of the Olympic Village in Milan Thursday. Italian officials say all security on the ground during the Winter Games will be under the Italians’ authority. (Luca Bruno/The Associated Press )
Are there other parts of ICE?
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is broken down into four directorates, including Enforcement and Removal Operations and Homeland Security Investigations, both described above.
The other two are Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, which comprises more than 1,700 attorneys. It litigates all immigration removal cases and provides legal services to all ICE programs and offices.
There is also a Management and Administration branch.