The Italian government has moved quickly to calm a political fire-storm over news that agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will support security operations at next month’s Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. Speaking to reporters on 27 January, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani stressed that ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) personnel will work only inside multi-agency operations rooms and will have no policing powers on Italian streets. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi was due to meet U.S. Ambassador Jack Markell the same day to finalise the scope of cooperation. (ansa.it)
The clarification followed 24 hours of heated criticism after ICE confirmed to AFP that it would “vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organisations” at the Games. Milan’s centre-left mayor Giuseppe Sala labelled the agency “a militia that kills”, referencing two fatal ICE raids in Minneapolis earlier this month, while opposition MEPs accused Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of “taking orders from Washington”. Even some lawmakers in the governing coalition questioned the wisdom of deploying a foreign law-enforcement body with a controversial human-rights record.
From a mobility perspective, the row underscores the heightened security environment surrounding Italy’s first Winter Olympics in 20 years. More than a million international spectators are expected, and corporate travel managers will have to navigate restricted zones, extra document checks and potentially higher scrutiny of U.S. delegations. The government is eager to show it can guarantee safety without undermining Italian sovereignty or Schengen freedoms.
![Italy Clarifies Limited Role for U.S. ICE Agents During Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Games]()
In that context, VisaHQ can simplify advance travel preparations by handling Italian visa applications, passport renewals and invitation-letter requirements through a single digital dashboard. Its local experts track every security bulletin issued for the Milano-Cortina Games and can push real-time alerts to corporate travel teams when accreditation rules change. Companies can explore tailored solutions at https://www.visahq.com/italy/
In practice, ICE agents will be embedded with the National Police and Carabinieri in accreditation screening centres and cyber-intelligence cells, sharing data on stolen passports, human-trafficking rings and counterfeit goods. Unlike at U.S. ports of entry, they will not conduct identity checks themselves. Nevertheless, companies sending staff to Olympic venues in Milan, Cortina, Trento and Bolzano should brief travellers on possible delays at security perimeters and ensure that passport details exactly match accreditation records.
Longer term, the episode may accelerate Italy’s drive to build its own advanced vetting capabilities before the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) goes live later in 2026. Officials privately admit that Italy still lacks a single interface linking police, customs and immigration databases—a gap that prompted the request for U.S. technical assistance in the first place.
The clarification followed 24 hours of heated criticism after ICE confirmed to AFP that it would “vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organisations” at the Games. Milan’s centre-left mayor Giuseppe Sala labelled the agency “a militia that kills”, referencing two fatal ICE raids in Minneapolis earlier this month, while opposition MEPs accused Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of “taking orders from Washington”. Even some lawmakers in the governing coalition questioned the wisdom of deploying a foreign law-enforcement body with a controversial human-rights record.
From a mobility perspective, the row underscores the heightened security environment surrounding Italy’s first Winter Olympics in 20 years. More than a million international spectators are expected, and corporate travel managers will have to navigate restricted zones, extra document checks and potentially higher scrutiny of U.S. delegations. The government is eager to show it can guarantee safety without undermining Italian sovereignty or Schengen freedoms.
In that context, VisaHQ can simplify advance travel preparations by handling Italian visa applications, passport renewals and invitation-letter requirements through a single digital dashboard. Its local experts track every security bulletin issued for the Milano-Cortina Games and can push real-time alerts to corporate travel teams when accreditation rules change. Companies can explore tailored solutions at https://www.visahq.com/italy/
In practice, ICE agents will be embedded with the National Police and Carabinieri in accreditation screening centres and cyber-intelligence cells, sharing data on stolen passports, human-trafficking rings and counterfeit goods. Unlike at U.S. ports of entry, they will not conduct identity checks themselves. Nevertheless, companies sending staff to Olympic venues in Milan, Cortina, Trento and Bolzano should brief travellers on possible delays at security perimeters and ensure that passport details exactly match accreditation records.
Longer term, the episode may accelerate Italy’s drive to build its own advanced vetting capabilities before the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) goes live later in 2026. Officials privately admit that Italy still lacks a single interface linking police, customs and immigration databases—a gap that prompted the request for U.S. technical assistance in the first place.
