Italy's interior minister, Matteo Piantedosi, sought on Tuesday to defuse a political storm over the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, saying they will not carry out policing duties on Italian streets.
Speaking to parliament, Piantedosi said reports that ICE officers would be operating in ways similar to those witnessed in the United States were misplaced. "We will not see anything on national territory that resembles what has been seen in the media in the United States," he said, reiterating earlier statements that only investigators from ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) division would be deployed in Milan and that those operatives would work out of U.S. diplomatic missions.
"The concern that inspired the controversy of recent days is therefore completely unfounded," Piantedosi added.
The announcement came after reports that ICE and Border Patrol agents, already the subject of intense criticism in the United States over enforcement actions tied to President Donald Trump's immigration policies, would be operating during the February 6-22 Games. Those reports provoked visible anger among politicians and activists in Italy.
Criticism was particularly vocal among centre-left opposition parties in Italy following the shooting in Minneapolis that wounded two U.S. citizens who had been observing or protesting ICE actions, an episode that helped fuel domestic unease about the agency's potential role at the Games.
Piantedosi said the deployment of HSI investigators was not a new, unilateral initiative but stemmed from a bilateral agreement that Italy ratified in 2014 when the centre-left was in government. "The presence of personnel linked to the ICE agency is not a sudden or unilateral attempt to restrict our national sovereignty," he said. "It is the implementation of a binding international agreement, fully compliant with our Constitution and parliamentary prerogatives."
A hard-left Italian trade union has announced an "ICE OUT" protest planned for the February 6 opening ceremony.
Responding to concerns about broader security, Piantedosi outlined the scale of Italy's preparations for the Games, which are being staged across northern regions. He said the country had put in place a large security plan and would deploy 6,000 police officers as part of the operation. Those forces include specialised units such as bomb squads, canine anti-sabotage teams, alpine units and anti-terror operatives.
"We will not deviate one centimetre from the course we have taken to ensure safety and public order at this major event, which will further strengthen Italy's international credibility," Piantedosi said.
Among those expected to attend the opening ceremony on Friday are U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Context and implications
Piantedosi's comments aim to reassure both domestic critics and international partners that Italy will maintain sovereign control over public order during the Milano Cortina Games while accommodating certain U.S. investigative personnel under an existing treaty framework. The minister emphasised constitutional and parliamentary compliance in implementing the bilateral accord that authorised HSI presence.
Political opposition and activist groups have framed the reported ICE deployment as a potential infringement on civil liberties and national sovereignty, prompting organised demonstrations during the high-profile opening ceremony.
Security preparations for multi-site Winter Games remain concentrated on a large-scale domestic policing operation, with specialised Italian forces mobilised to address threats from sabotage, terrorism and other public-safety risks.