The Department of Homeland Security moved to shut down growing panic on the left after liberals erupted over the alleged role of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy.
ICE Agents Set to Have Security Role During Winter Olympics in Italy, Prompting Uproar https://t.co/Wdt2Ro5FUT
— Variety (@Variety) January 27, 2026
Italian officials appeared rattled by the prospect ICE’s mere presence, with Milan’s mayor blasting the agency on a radio broadcast.
From Variety:
News of the presence of ICE agents at the Winter Olympics had been swirling in Italy over the weekend, with Italian authorities saying they had no knowledge of this or downright denying it.
On Tuesday, Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said that ICE agents were “not welcome.”
“This is a militia that kills … It’s clear that they are not welcome in Milan, there’s no doubt about it. Can’t we just say no to Trump for once?” the mayor said in an interview with Italy’s RTL 102.5 radio.
An online petition launched by activist group Azione Milano calling for ICE agents to be banned from the Milan-Cortina Olympics has already been supported by more than 6,400 signatures.
"Obviously, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries," the official DHS account wrote on X. "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," they added.
Obviously, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries.
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) January 27, 2026
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… https://t.co/ujkMw6dxFD
All of this comes as Democrats in the United States, from voters to elected officials, have continued to fearmonger about ICE, rhetoric that has increasingly spilled into real-world violence.
In Minneapolis, disturbing scenes emerged as protesters and agitators violently confronted federal immigration agents under the banner of defending democracy, chaos that ultimately culminated in the fatal shooting of two protesters, one of whom had struck an agent with her vehicle. The latest shooting on Saturday triggered a leadership shakeup within Minnesota ICE operations.
Yet while the media has remained fixated on the chaos in Minneapolis, deportations and arrests have continued efficiently in red states where local law enforcement is cooperating with federal authorities, developments that have drawn far less attention than the disorder itself.