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A diplomatic firestorm threatens the Winter Olympics as Milan’s Mayor brands US ICE agents a "killing militia" and demands they be barred from Italy, rejecting American security protocols on sovereign soil.

A fierce diplomatic row has erupted on the eve of the 2026 Winter Olympics, with Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala declaring US federal agents "persona non grata" in his city. The flashpoint? The deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to Italy.
In a blistering attack that has sent shockwaves through the diplomatic corps, Mayor Sala branded the US agency "a militia that kills," explicitly referencing the controversial shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. "They are not welcome in Milan," Sala stated on live radio. "We do not need cowboys on our streets."
The controversy stems from a misunderstanding—or a mistrust—of American bureaucratic reach. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) insists that the ICE agents are from "Homeland Security Investigations" (HSI), a division tasked with transnational crime and diplomatic protection, not the "Enforcement and Removal Operations" (ERO) branch notorious for immigration raids.
But for the Italian public, the distinction is academic. The "ICE" brand is toxic. Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi has been forced into damage control, assuring parliament that "Italian police remain the sole authority on Italian soil" and that US agents will have no operational powers outside the American delegation’s bubble.
As the Olympic torch approaches Milan, the atmosphere is frosty. The US Embassy in Rome is working overtime to smooth ruffled feathers, but the message from Milan is clear: American power has limits, and the sovereignty of the host city is not up for negotiation.
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