ICE Goons Preparing to Stalk Both the Super Bowl and the Olympics

It’s a rare winter treat to get both an Olympics and the Super Bowl in the same month, but it looks like the vibes are going to be infinitely worse this year, as ICE reportedly plans to be at both events—even though one of them isn’t even taking place in the United States.

That’s right, the U.S. is apparently planning on sending an ICE unit to the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in February, and Italians aren’t mincing words when they say, Assolutamente fucking not.

“They’re not welcome in Milan,” the city’s mayor, Giuseppe Sala, told a local Italian radio station on Tuesday. “This is a militia that kills.” He added, “I believe they shouldn’t come to Italy because they don’t guarantee they’re aligned with our democratic security management methods.” You and me both, Giuseppe.

The news was first reported on Saturday by an Italian newspaper that cited an “anonymous” source. In response, the country’s interior minister said it’s not “what [he] heard” from local officials, but on Monday, the president of Lombardy—where Milan is a regional capital—seemed to confirm it, telling ANSA, the country’s leading news agency, that the agents would only be around to protect Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “It will only be in a defensive measure. I am convinced that nothing will happen,” he explained. Reassuring!

On Tuesday, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin confirmed the rumors, saying in a statement that ICE would join a State Department security team to “vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organizations,” and that all operations would be conducted under Italian authority. “Obviously, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries,” she said, seemingly forgetting that ICE has international offices in countries like Brazil, Mexico, and the UAE.

“We cannot allow this,” former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte tweeted in response to McLaughlin’s announcement. “Our government tried to downplay the situation, but these latest statements speak clearly of ICE’s determination to come and ensure ‘security’ in Italy as well. Enough with the bowing.” Sala added, “I wonder: Can we, for once, say no to Trump?”

Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s Prime Minister, has said nothing of the matter, but given she’s earned the nickname of “Europe’s Trump Whisperer,” I wouldn’t hold my breath for anything good.

On Tuesday, McLaughlin also confirmed that ICE plans to be at Super Bowl LX in California next month to carry out immigration enforcement operations. On the flip side, Trump told the New York Post that he wouldn’t be attending the game or its halftime show, which will be performed by Bad Bunny and Green Day, both vocal critics of his administration’s policies; Trump said he was “anti-them.”

“The DHS is committed to working with our local and federal partners to ensure the Super Bowl is safe for everyone involved,” McLaughlin told the Independent on Tuesday. “Those who are here legally and are not breaking other laws have nothing to fear.”

That is a pretty rich statement, considering federal agents recently shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis in January, both of whom were here “legally” and neither of whom was breaking the law.

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