Milan protesters name for U.S. ICE brokers to go away Italy as Winter Games method : NPR

Hundreds of protesters gathered in a central sq. in Milan on Saturday, demanding that U.S. ICE brokers helping with safety on the Winter Olympics go away Italy.

Many of the Italians who chanted and blew whistles close to the grand stone arch within the Piazza XXV Aprile mentioned that they had been horrified and angered by photographs and movies on social media displaying ICE brokers working violently in Minneapolis.

“All the videos are public and everyone can see what’s happening,” mentioned Bruna Scanziani, age 18, who held up an indication with images of Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti, two American residents killed by ICE brokers. “The perception of America has changed.”

With the opening ceremony going down subsequent Friday, Italy’s authorities has scrambled to comprise the rising political scandal over ICE’s function on the Winter Games, holding excessive stage cupboard conferences and providing public assurances that the function of ICE brokers could be restricted.

According to U.S. officers, in the meantime, an ICE unit from the Department of Homeland Security will assist monitor for felony exercise however will conduct no immigration operations. In the previous, that form of exercise by U.S. brokers has been a traditional a part of main worldwide occasions just like the Olympics.

But many Italian politicians, together with Milan’s mayor, have mentioned that within the wake of violence in Minneapolis, ICE officers are not welcome within the metropolis.

“This is a militia that kills, a militia that enters into the homes of people, signing their own permission slips,” Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala advised native media final week. “It is clear they are not welcome in Milan, without a doubt.”

That view was shared by Francesco Tattoni, who mentioned he attended Saturday’s protest in Milan, partly to indicate solidarity with individuals in Minneapolis.

“I don’t like what’s happening with ICE. I don’t want that to come here to Italy,” Tattoni mentioned. “We believe they are doing the same thing the fascists were doing in the 1930s and 1940s.”

Saturday’s rally attracted a variety of protesters, together with mother and father who carried youngsters on their shoulders, and aged {couples} holding indicators objecting to ICE’s presence. The gathering was organized by leftist and center-left events.

“It’s not just for the Olympic games, it’s about justice in the world. We don’t want here ICE,” mentioned Alessandro Capella, head of the Italian Democratic Party’s Milan chapter, one of many organizers.

Police models, together with some with riot shields and fuel masks, monitored the gathering from a distance however there have been no clashes or unrest.

According to White House officials, Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are each scheduled to attend the Milan Cortina opening ceremony on February 6.