Hundreds of protesters gathered in a central square in Milan on Saturday, demanding that U.S. ICE agents assisting with security at the Winter Olympics leave Italy.
Many of the Italians who chanted and blew whistles near the grand stone arch in the Piazza XXV Aprile said they had been horrified and angered by images and videos on social media showing ICE agents operating violently in Minneapolis.
"All the videos are public and everyone can see what's happening," said Bruna Scanziani, age 18, who held up a sign with photographs of Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti, two American citizens killed by ICE agents. "The perception of America has changed."
With the opening ceremony taking place next Friday, Italy's government has scrambled to contain the growing political scandal over ICE's role at the Winter Games, holding high level cabinet meetings and offering public assurances that the role of ICE agents would be limited.
According to U.S. officials, meanwhile, an ICE unit from the Department of Homeland Security will help monitor for criminal activity but will conduct no immigration operations. In the past, that kind of activity by U.S. agents has been a normal part of major international events like the Olympics.
But many Italian politicians, including Milan's mayor, have said that in the wake of violence in Minneapolis, ICE officers are no longer welcome in the city.
"This is a militia that kills, a militia that enters into the homes of people, signing their own permission slips," Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala told local media last week. "It is clear they are not welcome in Milan, without a doubt."
That view was shared by Francesco Tattoni, who said he attended Saturday's protest in Milan, in part to show solidarity with people in Minneapolis.
"I don't like what's happening with ICE. I don't want that to come here to Italy," Tattoni said. "We believe they are doing the same thing the fascists were doing in the 1930s and 1940s."
Saturday's rally attracted a range of protesters, including parents who carried children on their shoulders, and elderly couples holding signs objecting to ICE's presence. The gathering was organized by leftist and center-left parties.
"It's not just for the Olympic games, it's about justice in the world. We don't want here ICE," said Alessandro Capella, head of the Italian Democratic Party's Milan chapter, one of the organizers.
Police units, including some with riot shields and gas masks, monitored the gathering from a distance but there were no clashes or unrest.
According to White House officials, Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are both scheduled to attend the Milan Cortina opening ceremony on February 6.
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