The official confirmation of the presence of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) in Italy during the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, which came from an agency spokesperson to AFP after the US embassy in Rome had anticipated it, marks a step that cannot be dismissed as a mere operational detail. On the contrary, it is a decision that raises serious and well-founded political, legal and value concerns, incompatible with the role that Italy and Europe should claim on the international scene.

Security cooperation between allies is established practice. But ICE is neither a neutral security agency nor a technical coordination body: it is the symbol of a precise vision of US migration policies, which is today increasingly contested even within the United States.

A controversial agency, not just any partner

In recent years, the work of ICE has been the focus of an increasing number of complaints from NGOs, international observers and human rights institutions. Prolonged detentions without adequate safeguards, separation of families, critical conditions in detention centres and coercive practices have contributed to making the agency one of the most controversial in the US federal apparatus.

This is the context that makes the decision to allow it to operate on Italian territory, even in a limited or ‘collaborative’ form, deeply problematic. Importing, albeit indirectly, such a controversial security model means accepting a grey area that contrasts with the European regulatory framework and with the principles enshrined in the Italian Constitution.

Sovereignty and the rule of law under pressure

The issue is not anti-American, nor does it concern the legitimacy of transatlantic relations. The issue is another: what powers will ICE have in Italy? Who will monitor its work? What guarantees will citizens, residents and foreign visitors have?

In the absence of clear answers, the risk is that of a silent erosion of sovereignty and a compression of legal protections. Italy has police forces and intelligence apparatuses fully capable of managing the security of a major international event. To delegate – even partially – to a foreign agency with specific expertise in immigration matters seems not only superfluous, but politically questionable.

The precedent that Europe should not accept

Accepting the operational presence of ICE during the Winter Olympics risks setting a dangerous precedent. Today Milan-Cortina, tomorrow other events, other emergencies, other ‘exceptions’. It is precisely through these exceptions that practices incompatible with the rule of law are normalised.

A Europe that aspires to be an autonomous, credible and coherent actor cannot afford ambiguity on such sensitive issues. Security cannot become the picklock to circumvent established legal standards, nor to import models that Europe has repeatedly criticised in terms of values.

Political and symbolic damage for Milan Cortina 2026

The Milan Cortina 2026 Olympics should represent a moment of openness, cooperation and trust. Associating the event with the presence of an agency that symbolises the United States’ harshest migration policies risks undermining this message, exposing Italy to avoidable international criticism.

Instead of strengthening the country’s credibility, the choice appears to be a pre-emptive renunciation of an autonomous role, accepted without a proper public and parliamentary debate.

A decision to be reviewed

From a liberal and pro-European perspective, the opposition to this decision is clear. Not out of hostility towards the allies, but out of defence of non-negotiable principles: human rights, legality, transparency, democratic control.

The Italian government should take a step back, clarify the terms of the agreement, and seriously consider revoking or drastically downsizing the ECI presence. The security of the Games can and must be guaranteed without compromising what makes Europe – and Italy – a distinct legal and political space.

At stake is not only the management of a sporting event, but the credibility of the values that Italy chooses to represent before the world.

Read also:

Rosato: ‘Understandable technical clarification from the Viminale, but ICE in Italy is a political fuse to be avoided’; S.Fornari, L’Europeista