The Winter Olympics are officially underway in Italy, and the buildup to the competition has been arguably more eventful than the games themselves.
Vice President JD Vance is taking time away from his duties to—once again—play tourist. He and his pregnant wife, Usha Vance, are prancing around Milan with their children, taking in the sights and attending the games despite previously scolding the European Union for supposedly suppressing free speech and allowing mass migration.
But that isn’t why Italians are so up in arms. Instead, locals have taken to the streets in protest of American officials bringing Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents along with them to Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, the two Italian cities hosting the games.
Italian Lawmaker Riccardo Magi, center, shows a placard demanding that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents not be allowed at the Milan Cortina Olympics during a protest staged by center-left party +Europa outside the U.S. Embassy in Rome on Jan. 29.
Earlier this week, Italian protesters flooded the streets, brandishing anti-ICE signs. In their protests, Italians gathered beneath an arch in the Piazza XXV Aprile, whose name refers to the date of Italy’s liberation from the Nazis in World War II.
“This is a militia that kills,” Mayor Giuseppe Sala said on local radio, referring to ICE. “It's clear that they're not welcome in Milan, there's no doubt about that.”
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin confirmed to CNN that ICE agents were present at the games “to vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organizations,” adding that “all security operations remain under Italian authority.”
But Italians are well aware of the true danger these agents represent. Federal immigration agents in Minnesota killed two innocent people in January, U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
“All the videos are public and everyone can see what’s happening,” Bruna Scanziani, an 18-year-old protester, said to reporters. “The perception of America has changed.”
Even the athletes have struck this tone.
British-American skier Gus Kenworthy, who is competing for Great Britain, took a moment to relieve himself in the snow. Conveniently, his bathroom break also spelled out “Fuck ICE.”
In an Instagram post alongside the photo, the freestyle skier urged Americans to contact their senators, saying they should tell them, “Innocent people have been murdered, and enough is enough. We can’t wait around while ICE continues to operate with unchecked power in our communities.”
As for the American athletes who traveled to Italy for the games, many are feeling conflicted.
“It brings up mixed emotions to represent the U.S. right now,” freestyle skier Hunter Hess said to reporters Friday. “There’s obviously a lot going on that I’m not the biggest fan of. … Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the U.S.”
Despite heightened emotions across Italy, cheers filled the San Siro Stadium Friday when Team USA walked into the opening ceremony. Then again, Vance and his wife were met with a familiar roar of boos when their faces hit the Jumbotron. Even across the Atlantic Ocean, the Trump presidency cannot escape its shameful reputation for violating human rights.
The sentiment around ICE, even among Trump’s more loyal supporters, has shifted ever since Pretti’s killing. Culturally, whether it's in the music people listen to, on stage at the Grammys, or during global protests, people are acknowledging that human rights are being violated in the name of the U.S.’s arbitrary deportation quotas.
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