ICE on Tuesday confirmed that it is set to help with the security at the next month’s Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics, sparking alarm from many quarters in Italy after its agents killed two people in Minneapolis in recent weeks.

“At the Olympics, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is supporting the US Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and host nation to vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organisations,” ICE told AFP in a statement.

“All security operations remain under Italian authority”.

On Monday interior ministry sources had said ICE would not operate in Italy during the Winter Olympics, while Lombardy Governor Attilio Fontana said its agents would have a very limited role, watching over US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who will attend the opening ceremony at Milan’s San Siro stadium on February 6.

The confirmation of reports that ICE will have a role was met with dismay.

“This is a militia that kills.” Milan’s centre-left Mayor Giuseppe Sala told RTL 102.5 radio.

“Can’t we say no to Trump for once? “It is clear that they are not welcome in Milan.

“ICE agents should not come to Italy because they are not aligned with our democratic way of providing security”.

Alessandro Zan, a MEP for the centre-left Democratic Party, said ICE’s involvement was “unacceptable”, adding Premier Giorgia Meloni should “stop taking orders from Trump”.

Even Massimiliano Salini, a MEP for Forza Italia (FI), which is part of Meloni’s ruling coalition, argued “there is no need for them”.