Milan protest targets planned role of ICE staff at Milano Cortina Winter Olympics

Milan, Italy. Hundreds of people protested in Milan on Saturday over the involvement of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement staff in supporting the US delegation at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. Demonstrators included family groups.

Protest in Milan

Protesters blew whistles and sang Bruce Springsteen songs, echoing tactics used by anti-ICE protesters in the United States.

Umberto Daddario, a 54-year-old industrial chemist, attended with his 16-year-old daughter, Giorgia. They carried a hand-written placard reading “ICE=FASCISM.”

Fabio, a 49-year-old architect from Milan, attended with his wife and daughters aged 10 and six. He said they joined at the request of their daughters to protest what is happening in the United States.

Olympics and security plans

Milan and the Alpine resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo will co-host the Games from February 6 to 22.

The US State Department said earlier this week that several federal agencies, including ICE, would help protect visiting Americans, as they have at past Olympics. The planned presence of ICE staff has caused an uproar in Italy following the fatal shootings of two US citizens by federal agents in Minnesota in January.

Italy has set out a sweeping security plan for the Winter Olympics and said it will keep command of all operations.

What do you think about the planned involvement of ICE staff in supporting the US delegation at the Olympics?