Milan mayor: 'ICE's image is terrible'

Milan mayor: 'ICE's image is terrible'

Milan mayor: ‘ICE’s image is terrible’by Ashleigh Fields - 01/29/26 10:32 AM ET

Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala on Wednesday condemned the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Olympic Winter Games after weeks of violent incidents with U.S. citizens in Minnesota.

“ICE’s image is terrible,” Sala told The Washington Post.

His words echo those of other officials in Italy who have rejected ICE’s involvement at the international event, including lawmakers who have requested guarantees that immigration enforcement will not be conducted at the sporting events.

“The Democratic Party has submitted a parliamentary question to [Italy’s interior minister Matteo] Piantedosi, requesting immediate clarification and the exclusion of any operational presence of ICE on Italian soil,” Matteo Mauri, a member of Parliament and the party’s lead on security, said in a statement to the Post.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which houses ICE, has sought to quell concerns by confirming that ICE will not be conducting immigration activities at the Games.

“Obviously, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries,” the DHS wrote in a Tuesday post on the social platform X.

“At the Olympics, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations is supporting the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and host nation to vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organizations,” it added.