The US immigration agency whose officers have been involved in a fatal shooting 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 that a branch of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would play a role came from several US departments, after reports prompted alarm and anger in Italy.
“This is a militia that kills… of course they’re not welcome in Milan,” Milan Mayor Beppe Sala told Italian radio on Tuesday.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, in a bid to cool tensions, told reporters “it’s not like the [Nazi] SS are coming”.
He was speaking on the sidelines of a ceremony marking Holocaust Remembrance Day, attended by three Jewish Italians who survived the Holocaust.
It is common for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and domestic law enforcement agencies to provide security support at major international events.
DHS stressed that “all security operations at the Olympics are directed and managed exclusively by Italian authorities”.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Tuesday that no ICE agents would appear on Italian streets, only officers from the police, the Carabinieri military police and the Guardia di Finanza financial authority.
The interior ministry said later that the US would set up an operations room at its consulate in Milan, where relevant US agencies would work during the Games.
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 ICE had itself taken part.
US officials said the role of Homeland Security Investigations – which is part of ICE – would be “strictly supportive – working with the Diplomatic Security Service and Italian authorities to vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organisations”.
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