Several hundred people rallied in Milan on Saturday to pressure Italy's government to send US immigration agents home before the Winter Olympics open there next week. Demonstrators in Piazza XXV Aprile denouncing the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel assigned to help with security for the Games. Demonstrators cited videos and reports from Minneapolis showing ICE operations they described as violent, saying those images had changed their view of the US, NPR reports. Some held signs bearing photos of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were killed by federal agents in Minneapolis this month.
The government has been trying to contain the backlash, convening cabinet meetings and promising that ICE's role will be narrow. US officials said a Homeland Security unit will help watch for criminal activity during the Olympics but will not conduct immigration enforcement and will not be on the streets, per the AP. Similar US security involvement has been common at past Olympics, but opposition in Italy has grown, including from Milan's mayor. "This is a militia that kills, a militia that enters into the homes of people, signing their own permission slips," Mayor Giuseppe Sala told reporters.
One protester said she finds the scenes of ICE agents in Minneapolis shooting and killing protesters and detaining children deeply upsetting. "It makes me want to cry to think of it," Silvana Grassi said. The opening ceremony for the Milan-Cortina Games is set for Friday, with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio scheduled to attend.
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