US ambassador says no ICE patrols at Winter Olympics
Milan (Italy) (AFP) – A branch of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sent to Italy for the Winter Olympics will not carry out patrols and will have only an "advisory" role, Washington's ambassador to Rome said on Wednesday.
Issued on: 28/01/2026 - RFI
News of its deployment for the February 6-22 Games in Milan-Cortina has sparked anger in Italy, after the agency's involvement in an often brutal crackdown on immigration in the United States.
But US ambassador to Italy Tilman J. Fertitta said ICE's Homeland Security Investigations unit will be "strictly advisory and intelligence-based, with no patrolling or enforcement involvement".
"At the Olympics, HSI criminal investigators will contribute their expertise by providing intelligence on transnational criminal threats, with a focus on cybercrimes and national security threats.
"All security operations will remain the responsibility of Italian authorities," he said after meeting Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi.
ICE operations in a number of US cities have triggered large-scale protests, and the recent killings of two demonstrators have caused outrage.
Agents accused of violence there are from a different division than that earmarked for the Olympics.
Fertitta said the HSI focuses on "cross-border criminal activity, ranging from investigating human smuggling, narcotics trafficking, child exploitation, financial crimes, intellectual property right theft, to recovering stolen art and antiquities".
The Italian authorities initially denied speculation that ICE would be present at the Games, then played down their role, suggesting that they would only be helping with security for the US delegation.
US Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are expected at the opening ceremony at Milan's San Siro stadium on February 6.
Italy's political opposition has asked the government to refuse the deployment, and protests are expected in the coming days in Rome and Milan.
© 2026 AFP
MEPs urge EU to block ICE from entering Europe for Winter Olympics
Several European lawmakers have urged the EU to impose restrictive measures on ICE, arguing that the agency should not operate in Europe due to concerns over democratic oversight and human rights.
European lawmakers have urged the EU to block US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel from entering the continent following reports that the agency will be involved in security operations during the Milan–Cortina Winter Olympics.
The controversy over their presence at the upcoming Games in Italy has been further fuelled by revelations of ICE’s business relationships with France-based IT multinational Capgemini.
Public outrage over ICE's actions spiked after the fatal shooting deaths of two Minneapolis residents, Renée Good and Alex Pretti, by ICE officers in separate incidents this month.
In the US, ICE has faced accusations of excessive use of force, abuse of power, and violent conduct from politicians, advocacy groups and public figures.
Tensions further escalated when ICE’s investigative arm, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), confirmed that it would be “supporting” other law enforcement authorities to “vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organisations” during the Winter Games, scheduled to begin on 6 February.
'Increased violence' to impact Europeans, MEPs say
Several MEPs now argue that ICE should not operate on European soil, citing concerns over democratic accountability and respect for human rights.
“It is a snub to Italy by Trump,” socialist MEP Sandro Ruotolo told Euronews, arguing that the Olympics are being used as a showcase for ICE at a time when the agency is under fire back home.
“Trump took a step back by removing Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, but he cannot get rid of ICE entirely,” Ruotolo said.
“He is imposing ICE on the Italian government, reinforcing a top-down relationship with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. We will oppose this decision.”
On Tuesday, Manon Aubry and Martin Schirdewan, co-presidents of The Left group in the European Parliament, sent a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other institution leaders calling for “restrictive measures” against ICE agents and urging the EU to “prevent the entry of such forces onto its territory.”
They warned that what they described as escalating violence by the agency necessitates a firm response from the EU to protect its citizens and uphold human rights standards.
“The increased violence and repression of ICE will directly impact European citizens here,” the letter stated.
Liberal Renew Europe group also reacted to the news of ICE agents' presence at the Olympics, stating in a post on X that "it is not acceptable".
"In Europe, we do not want people who ignore human rights and avoid democratic control," the group said. "Our union, our values, our rules."
However, some MEPs do not share this view. Italian lawmaker Salvatore De Meo (EPP) told Euronews that there is not much to worry about.
“It is ridiculous to imagine that ICE agents would come to Italy with the same tasks assigned in Minneapolis," De Meo said.
"During major international events, forms of cooperation and coordination with allied partners are an usual practice, in full respect of the rules and national sovereignty.”
According to De Meo, “turning a serious issue like security into an ideological controversy is irresponsible and does no service to the country.”
The European Commission declined to comment on the request on Wednesday, reiterating that security issues fall under national competence.
“National security is the sole responsibility of each member state. The Commission has no competence in this regard,” a Commission spokesperson told Euronews.
Tajani: 'It is not the SS coming here'
According to the Italian Interior Ministry, ICE personnel would operate exclusively alongside Italian authorities in coordination centres.
The ministry stressed that the agents would not patrol public spaces or carry out immigration enforcement activities.
In an effort to calm tensions, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani quipped that “it is not the SS coming here,” and emphasised that the personnel involved are not the same as those engaged in controversial operations in the US.
Despite these assurances, opposition remains strong. Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala has called for ICE agents to be barred, while protests have erupted in the Lombardy regional council and several petitions have been launched opposing their presence.
Italian opposition parties called for a rally in Milan next Saturday to protest against ICE's presence. Participants are asked to carry whistles, commonly used by anti-ICE demonstrators in the US.
Trump and his administration have consistently defended ICE and its actions, citing success in reducing crime rates across the US. In turn, the US president has blamed Democrats for what he described as "chaos" of recent weeks.
"During the four years of crooked Joe Biden and Democrat failed leadership, tens of millions of illegal alien criminals poured into our country, including hundreds of thousands of convicted murderers, rapists, kidnappers, drug dealers, and terrorists," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday evening.
"In the five Republican run states ... ICE has arrested 150,245 criminal illegal aliens over the past year, with zero protests, riots, or chaos," he added.
French company also under fire over ICE
Meanwhile, a separate controversy has emerged in France over an investigation that revealed French IT multinational company Capgemini’s US subsidiary provided ICE with “skip tracing services for enforcement and removal operations.”
According to the L’Observatoire des multinationales report, Capgemini was awarded a contract worth up to $365 million (€305.3m), with an initial payment of $4.8 million (€4.01m) released in December.
The company has reportedly maintained contractual ties with ICE since at least 2007, some worth tens of millions of dollars. The findings sparked public backlash and prompted France’s Economy Minister Roland Lescure to seek clarification.
“I am calling on Capgemini to shed light in an extremely transparent manner on its activities — on this policy — and no doubt to question the very nature of those activities,” Lescure stated at the National Assembly in response to a question from a member of parliament.
In response, Capgemini CEO Aiman Ezzat said that the company’s US subsidiary operates under independent governance, with its own board and decision-making process.
As a result, he said, the Capgemini Group does not have access to CGS’ classified information or contractual arrangements.
French government and lawmakers step up pressure over Capgemini’s ICE ties
The French government has urged the IT group Capgemini to review its activities following revelations that one of its US subsidiaries had signed a contract with the United States immigration police (ICE), as lawmakers from the far left announced a parliamentary initiative targeting the agency.
Issued on: 28/01/2026 - RFI
“I am urging Capgemini to shed light, in an extremely transparent manner, on the activities it carries out, on this policy, and no doubt to review the nature of these activities,” economy minister Roland Lescure said in response to a question from a member of parliament.
Capgemini and ICE
According to information published last week by the association L’Observatoire des multinationales and reported on Monday evening by public broadcaster France 2, Capgemini supplied ICE with a tool for identifying and locating foreign nationals.
In a message posted on Sunday on the social network LinkedIn, Capgemini chief executive Aiman Ezzat said he had learned “from public sources” of the signing in December of a contract between the group’s US subsidiary and ICE.
He said the subsidiary operated independently under US law, with strict separation from the group’s central management.
The subsidiary “takes decisions autonomously, has segregated networks, and…the Capgemini group is unable to access any classified information or classified contracts,” he said, adding that a review of the content and scope of the contract had been launched.
Speaking in the National Assembly, Lescure said he had raised the matter with the company, stressing that this explanation was insufficient and that a group must know what is happening within its subsidiaries.
'Immediate and public cessation'
Capgemini’s CGT trade union called for “the immediate and public cessation of any collaboration with ICE”, saying such partnerships were contrary to the group’s stated values and made it complicit in serious human rights violations.
Against this backdrop, lawmakers from La France insoumise (LFI) announced on Tuesday that they had tabled a non-binding resolution against ICE.
The text calls on the French government to publicly condemn alleged human rights violations by the agency, request the opening of an international investigation, freeze European assets of ICE agents and officials identified as perpetrators or instigators of abuses, and ban those individuals from entering the European Union.
'Supremacist militia'
At a press conference at the National Assembly, LFI lawmaker Hadrien Clouet sharply criticised what he described as a “supremacist militia disguised as a federal immigration service”, accusing the agency’s leadership and supervising ministers of guaranteeing impunity for its agents.
“It is time for France to assume its responsibilities,” Clouet said, also deploring the fact that “private French companies collaborate and work with ICE”, referring to press reports about Capgemini’s US subsidiary developing software to detect and locate foreign nationals.
LFI parliamentary leader Mathilde Panot said her group hoped the resolution would be adopted.
The federal immigration police and border police have been implicated in the deaths of two demonstrators shot dead in Minneapolis, Minnesota, prompting a wave of outrage in the United States. According to the city’s mayor, federal agents deployed there were due to begin leaving the city on Tuesday, as President Donald Trump sought to ease tensions.
An ICE spokesperson told AFP that federal agents would also be deployed on support missions abroad, including in Italy for the Winter Olympic Games, scheduled to take place from 6 to 22 February.
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