Agents from the divisive US immigration enforcement agency ICE will have no operational role in the Winter Olympics, Italy's interior minister said Wednesday, two days before the Milan-Cortina Games open.
ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) arm will operate within US diplomatic missions only and "are not operational agents" and "have no executive function", Matteo Piantedosi told parliament.
He said the outrage over their presence, which included the Milan mayor warning they were not welcome in the city during the February 6-22 Games, was "completely unfounded".
The HSI investigates global threats, including the illegal movement of people, goods and weapons, and is separate from the department carrying out the US immigration crackdown that has sparked widespread protests.
Piantedosi noted it was standard for countries to send security officials to the Olympics, with Italy having sent them to Paris for the 2024 Games.
"ICE does not and will never be able to carry out operational police activities on our national territory," he emphasized.
Italian authorities are preparing a major security operation for the Olympics, which will draw world leaders including US Vice President JD Vance, who is attending Friday's opening ceremony in Milan.
Some 6,000 police plus nearly 2,000 military personnel are being deployed across the Games area, which stretches across half a dozen sites from Milan to the Dolomites, officials said.
Bomb disposal experts, snipers, anti-terrorism units and skiing policemen are among those deployed, Piantedosi said.
The defense ministry is also providing 170 vehicles plus radars, drones and aircraft.
