US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will have a security role during the upcoming Milan Cortina Winter Games, according to sources at the US embassy in Rome.
The sources who confirmed ICE participation on Tuesday said that federal ICE agents would support diplomatic security details and not run any immigration enforcement operations.
During previous Olympics, several federal agencies have supported security for US diplomats, including the investigative component of ICE called Homeland Security Investigations, the sources said. They could not be named because they are not authorised to speak publicly.
Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said that ICE would not be welcome in his city, which is hosting most ice sports.
"They are not welcome in Milan. They are not aligned with our democratic way of managing security,'' Sala told RTL Radio 102.
ICE's role had been reported over the weekend by the Italian daily Il Fatto Quotidiano, prompting conflicting statements from Italian authorities who did not want to appear to confirm their role.
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said Saturday he had not received confirmation of their role, but added that "I don't see what the problem would be,'' the news agency ANSA reported.
The confirmation of ICE's role comes after RAI state TV aired a video Sunday of ICE agents threatening to break the glass on the vehicle of a RAI crew reporting in Minneapolis.