Policing the Games: ICE, Sovereignty, and Protest at Milano-Cortina 2026
- Lodovico Stevanato
- 1 hour ago
- 5 min read
The Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics kicked off at the San Siro Stadium in Milan on February 6, 2026, bringing together athletes and fans from all over the globe to celebrate sports, culture, and unity. Nevertheless, just before the event began, news broke that United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were involved in the security arrangements. As a result, the event became a rallying point for controversy surrounding migration and other political issues at the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Verona.
The controversy arose in late January 2026 when it was reported that representatives from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), specifically the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) division, would be in the Milan area during the Olympics to assist in U.S. diplomatic security efforts.
The initial major protests took place in Milan on January 30, 2026, when hundreds gathered in Piazza XXV Aprile, near Porta Garibaldi, to protest the presence of ICE personnel at the Games. Led by student groups, migrant-rights advocates, and local activists, the rally attracted a diverse crowd, including students and trade-union representatives. Participants held banners like “ICE Out of Milan” and “No Border Police at the Olympics,” with speakers condemning the involvement of a U.S. immigration agency as an infringement on Italian sovereignty. The protesters marched through nearby streets and tried to approach police barriers around Olympic venues. Although clashes were avoided, tensions ran high. This protest marked one of the first clear signs that the ICE issue would move beyond diplomatic talks into the public arena, turning the Olympics into a symbol of broader political issues related to migration, policing, and international relations.
The controversy revealed that migration issues extend beyond national borders and can influence global events like the Olympics. The Italian people, including students, activists, and opposition politicians, gathered to protest, not only raising questions about the security measures but also challenging them. The protesters were opposed to the presence of foreign agencies in Italian affairs and challenged the notion that the Olympics are a neutral event.
However, the Mayor of Milan, Giuseppe “Beppe” Sala, who was the CEO of EXPO in 2015, and is currently serving his second term as mayor of the city, was quite adamant about his stance on the matter. He argued that ICE agents were “not welcome” in Milan. He questioned the need for an immigration agency from another country to be involved in such an important event in Italy, stating, “We can handle our own security,” reflecting his pride and his belief in his country's democratic values; he then referred to ICE as a “militia that kills.”
Opposition groups also expressed their views on social media and in other Italian news outlets. Former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte tweeted on X that Italy “cannot allow” ICE to be involved in the event because of ICE's negative reputation. He referenced the fatal shootings of 37-year-old Reneè Good on January 7, 2026, and Alex Pretti on January 24th, to argue that ICE’s involvement was inappropriate and symbolically threatening to Italy.
As protests continued to escalate, the Italian government sought to calm the situation. On February 4, 2026, the Italian Interior Minister, Matteo Piantedosi, appeared before Italian media, after a meeting in the Senate in Rome, to clarify that ICE will have no policing powers in the country and that deployed HSI agents will be only within U.S. buildings. He said, “We will not see anything on national territory that resembles what has been seen in the media in the United States.” He continued to say that these concerns were “completely unfounded.”The Italian foreign ministry also issued a statement, assuring the public that Italian authorities remained responsible for policing within the country. They stated that foreign officials were deployed solely to exchange intelligence and coordinate on resolving potential issues.
However, despite these reassurances, Piantedosi’s statements did little to assuage criticism of ICE’s presence at the Games. Opponents of ICE’s presence argued that the mere presence of ICE personnel, owing to its checkered reputation in the United States, was enough to provoke an antagonistic response to its presence at the Games. For the protesters, the symbolic value of ICE’s involvement outweighed the restrictions on their roles.
On February 6, 2026, with increased security arrangements for the opening ceremony of the Games, hundreds of protesters gathered at the center of Milan to voice their opposition to ICE’s presence at the Games. The protesters, mostly students, chanted slogans, blew plastic whistles in solidarity with the anti-ICE protests in the United States, and carried banners that read “ICE out,” “ICE should be in my drinks, not my city,” and urged the U.S. officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, to leave Italy.
Anti-Olympics protests persisted in northern Italy after the opening ceremony, including near Verona, where protesters demanded more scrutiny of the billions spent on Olympic facilities. While not all protests targeted ICE, the organization’s role remained a debate point on the benefits and costs of international events.
Protests in Milan included concerns over the Games' costs, environmental damage from cutting old larches for the bobsled track, rising housing costs, and public spending. Greenpeace protested against polluting companies like ENI. Public doubts arose about the bobsled ring's economic sustainability, with predictions that it would go bankrupt due to low athlete participation and high maintenance costs. Veneto's mayor, Luca Zaia, said infrastructure building is needed to revive the sport's popularity.
Protests against ICE also highlighted other issues, some linked to the Games. Protesters targeted Israel, where pro-Palestinian groups demanded the release of Mohammad Hannoun, president of the Palestinian Association in Italy, arrested in December. This showed how international solidarity and opposition to conflicts connect with Olympic protests.
From an ideological standpoint, the right-wing Italian government, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, strongly disapproved of the demonstrations, calling them disruptive andanti-Italian. The Prime Minister stated that the demonstrators’ slogans and activities were those of “enemies of Italy.” However, while making the statement, Prime Minister Meloni targeted anti-Olympics protests as a whole rather than the ICE controversy, calling for “solidarity, once again, with the police, the city of Milan, and all those who will see their work undermined by these gangs of criminals." In Milan, the government ordered the closure of schools along the routes of the demonstrations to maintain order as the opening ceremony of the Games progressed.
As the Games progressed into mid-February, with events held across different venues from Milan to Cortina d’Ampezzo, and Italy recording impressive performances, the controversy surrounding ICE gradually faded. The Games were held peacefully, with no major demonstrations or strikes reported until the closing ceremony on February 22, in Verona.
However, the protests that occurred before the Games affected public discourse in Italy. The protests showed that global events like the Olympics are not isolated from current political discourse, especially regarding issues of migration, sovereignty, and security. While the ICE controversy eventually fell into the background, it is a prime example of how people in a democracy can resist global decisions that they feel are unjust. In this regard, the Milano-Cortina Olympics reflected global tensions. The Olympics were a platform for sports and coming together, as well as a platform for debating various social and political issues.
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