Italian news outlets and politicians have erupted following news the US will send a unit of its Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to form part of the security detail for its delegation at the upcoming Winter Olympics. Officers are being sent from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) – a unit within ICE that focuses on cross-border crimes that frequently sends personnel to overseas events like the Olympics to assist with security. 

They are separate from the ICE arm that is overseeing Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. These officers are from Enforcement and Removal Operations, and there was no indication that they were being sent to Italy. However, Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said that ICE would not be welcome in his city.

Mr Sala told RTL Radio 102: “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, without a doubt.”

Following the outcry, the Italian Interior Ministry said HSI investigators would be stationed at a control room at the US Consulate in Milan.

They will support other US law enforcement agencies and that not include personnel involved in immigration control. HSI agents are present in more than 50 countries, including for many years Italy, the statement added.

It said: “All of the security operations in the territory remain as always the exclusive responsibility and direction of Italian authorities.”

The Department of Homeland Security added: “Obviously, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries.

“At the Olympics, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations is supporting the US 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.”

An anonymous US official told AP News that the general public likely wouldn’t even see or be aware of the HSI agents on the ground during the Olympics.

They said HSI agents would be working behind the scenes, mainly in offices or the US consulate in Milan, as they have done during previous international events.