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After weeks of reports in Minnesota about US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carrying out the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, the Department of Homeland Security announced that an ICE unit will be sent to Italy for the Winter Olympics.
ICE’s Division of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) will be there to support the US State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service at the Milan-Cortina Olympics, the Department of Homeland Security said in a social media post.
Obviously, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries.
At the Olympics, ICE’s Homeland Security Division supports the US Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and the host country in screening and mitigating the risk of transnational… https://t.co/ujkMw6dxFD
News of the presence of the ICE unit for the Games, which begin on February 6, angered some Italiansincluding Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala, who said ICE would not be welcome in his city, which hosts the opening ceremony, as well as most ice sports.
“This is a militia that kills, a militia that enters people’s homes, signing their own permits. It is clear that they are not welcome in Milan,” Sala said. RTL radio.
It turns out that it’s not unusual for ICE to play a role in the security of US delegations abroad.
Who exactly is going?
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a unit within ICE that focuses on cross-border crimes, often sends its officers to overseas events to assist with security.
HSI officers are separate from the branch of ICE spearheading immigration crackdowns currently underway in US cities — known as Enforcement and Removal Operations — and there is no indication that ERO officers have been sent to Italy.
Andrew Chang explains why the US is sending Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to Italy for the Milan-Cortina Olympics amid furor over ICE operations in Minnesota. Images courtesy of The Canadian Press, Reuters and Getty Images
Is it new to send them to the Olympics?
It’s not new.
ICE has had a past presence at major sporting events in the US and abroad, including past Olympics, as part of international partnerships linked to human and drug trafficking, Jason Houser, who served as ICE chief of staff under former US President Joe Biden, told Reuters in an interview.
But it’s clear that the recent fatal shootings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis during an immigration crackdown have raised awareness of ICE — and concerns about its presence — outside the US.
When reports emerged in Italy last weekend that ICE would be deployed in some capacity during the Olympics, small opposition parties launched online petitions to rally support among people opposed to its presence at the Milan-Cortina Games.
What exactly will the HSI unit do?
Italy’s interior ministry says HSI investigators will be stationed in a control room at the US consulate in Milan, working in a support role with other US law enforcement agencies.
HSI agents are usually stationed in embassies around the world to facilitate their investigations and build relationships with local law enforcement in those countries. They conduct investigations into everything with a cross-border element, from people smuggling to fentanyl trafficking to the smuggling of cultural artifacts.
ICE agents deployed to Italy for the Milan-Cortina Games will have a different role than that seen in U.S. immigration enforcement, officials stressed.
“It is clear that ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries,” the US Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on Tuesday.
“At the Olympics, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations supports the US Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and the host country in screening and mitigating the risk of transnational criminal organizations. All security operations remain under Italian jurisdiction.”
Are there other parts of ICE?
Immigration and Customs Enforcement it is divided into four administrationsincluding enforcement and removal operations and homeland security investigations, both described above.
The other two are the Office of the Chief Legal Counsel, which has more than 1,700 lawyers. He litigates all immigration removal cases and provides legal services to all ICE programs and offices.
There is also a Management and Administration branch.
