Washington [US], January 28: Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala says Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a United States government agency that is to support security operations at the Winter Olympics in Italy, is "not welcome".
Confirmation that a branch of ICE will help with security for the Milano Cortina Games, which will begin next week, has sparked immediate anger as well as a plea from Sala.
"This is a militia that kills. . It's clear that they are not welcome in Milan. There's no doubt about it. Can't we just say no to [US President Donald] Trump for once?" he said in an interview with RTL 102.5 radio.
Reports had been circulating for days that the agency embroiled in an often brutal immigration crackdown in the US could be involved in US security measures for the February 6-22 Games in northern Italy.
In a statement issued overnight to the AFP news agency, ICE said: "At the Olympics, ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is supporting the US Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service and host nation to vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organisations.
"All security operations remain under Italian authority." (Agencies)
Source: Qatar Tribune
