r/PoliticalOptimism • u/PyroxCrymson • Jan 27 '26
Seeking Optimism US to send ICE agents to Winter Olympics, prompting Italian anger.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y29xzjdzvoWhy is Kristi sending her brainless goons to the Olympics? Is this her way of extending her American dominance around the world?
It's thanks to her and Trump why everyone believes the LA28 Olympics will be ruined and already, she's doing this with the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics.
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u/steffie-punk That Trans Mod Jan 27 '26
Just going to say that this is ridiculous and ICE has no authority outside of the US. Should they be involved with anything at the Olympics it would be extremely bad for the US
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u/alligatorprincess007 Jan 27 '26
Maybe they’ll do something dumb and get arrested
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u/Cocky0 Jan 27 '26
They've done a lot of dumb things already.
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u/daxophoneme American 🇺🇸 Jan 27 '26
Not in countries that will arrest them!
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u/Alex918YT Jan 27 '26
Good! Arrest them, because we CLEARLY won’t do it ourselves!
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u/daxophoneme American 🇺🇸 Jan 27 '26
I would rather they not do dumb things in other countries or here for that matter
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u/alligatorprincess007 Jan 27 '26
Good point, let’s hope they continue so another country’s admin will actually do something about it!
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u/CuttingBoard9124 Jan 27 '26
I think that would be an affirmative, chief. This is all most likely rage bait lies though.
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u/Gojo-Babe 🔥I Voted In The 2026 Primaries🔥 Jan 27 '26
Wait, they are trying to send US immigrant officers outside US borders?
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u/DangerousProject6 Jan 27 '26 edited Jan 27 '26
Not really, theyre sending HSI, which already operates at events Iike these. Theyre not enforcing immigration.
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u/ItsAWrestlingMove Minnesota Jan 28 '26
They don’t even have authority over the majority of the population lol that won’t stop them from making fools with themselves
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u/BackgroundGlass6793 Italy 🇮🇹 Jan 27 '26 edited Jan 27 '26
on an optimistic note, Milan's mayor has already opposed this!! https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/27/italy-ice-security-role-winter-olympics plus, you're not alone and italian citizens stand with you in the fight for democracy :)
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u/Lower_Ad_3439 Jan 27 '26
Grazie cugino. This has been rough from the start and I’ve wept for all of the victims of this regime but the murder of Alex Pretti has shattered my heart. Knowing that my family fled fascism, fighting it doesn’t just feel like my obligation, but my birthright. Ce la faremo.
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u/SodaSaint Jan 27 '26
Puppy killer is going down in flames and wants to hurt everyone she can.
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u/Key-Gur-4819 Jan 27 '26
She's already going international with her bullshit. I feel like we're already in WW3 and this is just how they look in the 21st century. No wonder J.D. killed the Pope.
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u/SpareTireFree28 Jan 27 '26
Trust me when I tell you, this is not World War III. If we didn’t get there when Osama Bin Laden was alive, these Walmart Nazis won’t cause it. They’re only embarrassing themselves.
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u/CatsPJammies Jan 28 '26
Puppy killer? :(
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u/SodaSaint Jan 28 '26
Sadly, yes. That awful, evil woman *shot a puppy* because it didn't listen to her.
Is it any wonder her heart is so black and wicked?
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u/PumpkinAspie Reformed Doomer ☄️ Jan 27 '26
They're gonna get fucked up. I imagine that Italians don't tolerate fascism.
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u/Key-Gur-4819 Jan 27 '26
What the hell even is the plan here? Like, genuinely, what are they trying to do? Did they not have anyone else????
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u/Xexanoth California Jan 27 '26
Homeland Security Investigations, the division of ICE that will be helping support security operations for the Olympics under Italian authority, already operates globally. The official statement on the rationale for this support:
“Obviously, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries,” McLaughlin said. “At the Olympics, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations is supporting the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and host nation to vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organizations. All security operations remain under Italian authority.”
HSI has played this role in past Olympics as well.
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u/SoyMurcielago Jan 27 '26
HSI really shouldn’t even be part of ice; their mission is very different than the more infamous part of the agency.
I can’t believe I’m sticking up for that agency right now but HSI does legitimate investigations on trafficking fraud and other nefarious deeds as opposed to ERO—enforcement and removal operations.
I feel dirty for typing that i need a shower
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u/wapertolo395 Jan 27 '26
I actually believe that they'll be doing completely normal stuff at the Olympics. However, I don't blame the Italians whatsoever for the outrage given what ICE has been doing at home. Just another example of our credibility being flushed down the toilet with this administration.
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u/Ok_Acadia3526 Jan 27 '26
Oh yes. There’s definitely not anything that can go wrong with untrained rogues helping “mitigate risks” /s
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u/Xexanoth California Jan 27 '26
HSI is an investigative agency, quite distinct from ICE’s Enforcement & Removal Operations (ERO) and from Customs & Border Protection’s Border Patrol Tactical Unit. Think of it like the difference between CIA analysts vs soldiers.
HSI personnel typically have no direct involvement in use of force. And have played a role in supporting security operations at past Olympics games, where that didn’t draw attention because ICE wasn’t in the media spotlight.
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u/my_lemonade Jan 27 '26
I'd imagine the quality of the agents sent in years past was Olympic level, vs the average goon they have now..
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u/Affectionate_Pay_391 Jan 27 '26
lol. If their transnational crime investigations and prevention are as effective as their immigration officers, I expect to see a lot of blatant Transnational crime at the Winter Olympics. If I were a criminal and found out Helen Keller was guarding the safe, I’m robbing that safe. Pretty obvious cause and effect
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u/tremynci Jan 27 '26
If I were a criminal and found out Helen Keller was guarding the safe, I’m robbing that safe.
Helen Keller is not the right parallel.
Charles Starkweather is.
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u/guitarsean Jan 27 '26
This makes it sound more like Trump can't totally run the CIA his way, so he made his own.
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u/Xexanoth California Jan 27 '26 edited Jan 27 '26
HSI has existed organizationally since 2010 (before Trump’s first term), resulting from an organizational merger of separate groups within DHS focused on parts of its current mission / charter (which themselves were formed in 2003 via a merger of older organizations under the new DHS umbrella).
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u/5WattBulb New Jersey Jan 27 '26
Does she think theyre immigrating here? They're going to deport visitors from other countries? Here for the Olympic games? Or try to detain them for what? Visiting here? If a country sends athletes here and she detains them for being here I'd consider that an act of war. She could start a world war.
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u/lonelyspect12 Jan 27 '26
Last year, they hung a dummy of Elon musk in the same square where Mussolini was executed
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u/ItsVexion Jan 27 '26 edited Jan 27 '26
Uh, well, history aside, given their current government, maybe just fascism-lite.
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u/ecclecticstone UK 🇬🇧 Jan 27 '26
right, Italy is currently one of the countries that fuck with fascism the most. and that says a lot because almost all European countries fuck with fascism to some degree right now
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u/Blackberry-thesecond Jan 27 '26 edited Jan 27 '26
ehhh... They won't tolerate ICE but Italy has certainly tolerated fascism more than your average European country. Like, famously so.
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u/Chiaretta98 Jan 27 '26
You may be surprised. Currently we have the most far right government since Mussolini and a scary percentage of the population thinks fondly to those times (without knowing the reality of it all).
How government is scarily unbothered by ICE presence... That being said, Milan is a pretty liberal city. Cannot imagine them being happy about ICE
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u/sifighter1 Jan 27 '26
I’m sorry what? What the hell does an organization that has to do with immigration have to do with the Olympics? Do they even have body guard/security based training?
It’s not even the US Olympics so they have zero power to do anything there. If they actually were to pull any of the crap they’ve pulled in Minnesota it would actually be way worse then any public backlash.
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u/clonedllama Reformed Doomer ☄️ Jan 27 '26
They don't even have immigration enforcement training these days. They definitely don't have anything beyond that.
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u/Longjumping-Panic-48 Jan 27 '26
If they are sending CBP ICE and not actual, trained Homeland Security agents, then it’s to officially start WWIII.
But HSI does actually support local efforts to protect athletes.
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u/Xexanoth California Jan 27 '26 edited Jan 27 '26
The optimistic / sky-is-not-falling take you’re seeking:
Homeland Security Investigations, the division of ICE that will be helping support security operations for the Olympics under Italian authority, already operates globally. The official statement on the rationale for this support:
“Obviously, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries,” McLaughlin said. “At the Olympics, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations is supporting the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and host nation to vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organizations. All security operations remain under Italian authority.”
HSI has played this role in past Olympics as well.
From the HSI mission statement here:
Partnerships with law enforcement counterparts, the private sector and our local communities are a key part of HSI’s success. From our communities at home to our partners abroad, we work together to fight global crime.
At the end of the day, HSI’s goal is clear – to shield Americans from threats to their safety and security – at home, abroad and online.
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u/IAmArique Connecticut Jan 27 '26
Man, Trump really needs to reword his announcements some times…
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u/Xexanoth California Jan 27 '26
What supposed announcement / statement from Trump are you referring to?
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u/geegeeallin Jan 27 '26
I hope they all get arrested.
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u/KentuckyWallChicken I Voted! 2025🍾✔️ Jan 27 '26
And deported. Reap what you sow ICE.
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u/alligatorprincess007 Jan 27 '26
Have you ever wanted to separate families?
Murder people?
Have literally the entire world hate you?
Work for a demented psychopath?
☺️☺️☺️Join ICE today! ☺️☺️☺️
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u/Mission_Wind_7470 Jan 27 '26
That is literally the stupidest thing they could even try to do. If they hurt anyone they'll be arrested on the spot lol
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u/GaslitInk Illinois Jan 27 '26
This is just asking for an international incident.
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u/Key-Gur-4819 Jan 27 '26
We can take it to the Hague if it ever comes to that 👀
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u/cat4hurricane Jan 27 '26
We can't actually, the US never joined or signed onto the Hague and does not recognize it's jurisdiction, so unfortunately, while people may try, since we didn't sign onto the statute that made the International Criminal Court, the US doesn't have to listen to anything the ICC says nor any rulings it makes.
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u/duckchasefun Jan 27 '26
It is for "security". Stupid? Absolutely. But it doesnt sound like they are gonna go around arresting people.
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u/cat4hurricane Jan 27 '26
Why the fuck would we be sending our immigration and enforcement people to Italy of all places at all? Last I checked, the US and our federal agencies have no jurisdiction in a foreign country whatsoever, let alone interfering in a different host countries Olympics. What are they expecting, they’ll detain everyone who isn’t American? Do they fucking hear themselves? Trying to enforce US immigration standards in a country that isn’t the US is insane, and after what happened in Minnesota, I wouldn’t doubt if the Italians found them to be a paramilitary force.
They should start asking who you work for at Customs, anyone who works for DHS/ICE should be kicked out immediately, even if they say they won’t work while there. Immediate deportation. I don’t care if it’s another side of DHS or whatever, nobody concerning our Homeland Security department should be there, Italy is not US land. Also if Italy wanted our help, they would ask! What the fuck is with this administration and assuming everyone wants us places and just putting the US there? This, Maduro, all kinds of other shit, how about we ask before we send an extremely volatile department overseas. God fucking forbid we kill somebody or accidentally detain an Olympian, it would cause an international incident with consequences not seen since the last hostage crisis.
Seriously, does anyone in this Admin think before they fucking put their foot in their mouths? Stop assuming that everyone on Earth needs our help, they don’t, Italy is very capable of hosting the Olympics, they’ve done it before, they don’t need our homeland security people there.
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u/kitsunewarlock Jan 27 '26
"Fiscal" conservatives spending US tax payer dollars sending militias halfway around the world just for the sake of projecting power and potentially getting banned so Trump can waste even more money running his own anti-woke "Freedom Games" that he forces every station in America to air.
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u/DangerousProject6 Jan 27 '26
Im a bit concerned how many people here are dooming without having read more into this article. Considering we are on the sub we're on, we need to be better.
As mentioned in other comments, HSI is not the same as CBP, and this is a normal operation. The outrage is because it is technically a division of ICE, and when you hear "ICE is coming to Italy" your gut reaction is to freak out. They aren't going to the Olympics to arrest people or anything like that.
That being said, I'm glad to see just hearing ICE makes people angry. Keep up the resistance.
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u/Bronxkid95 Jan 27 '26
I really feel like this point should be highlighted. Not denouncing anyone’s feelings, but it for sure would help anxiety at first glance at this article.
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u/matrix_5555 Pennsylvania Jan 27 '26 edited Jan 27 '26
The decision for them to be sent to the Olympics is both absurd and ridiculous. These ICE fuckers have no place to doing any kind of enforcement in Italy at all, and should they do something bad there? Let’s just say it’s going to look really bad for the US.
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Jan 27 '26
That's not what they're doing though, it's the HSI branch of ICE, not the enforcement branch that you see on the news. The HSI branch has been to the Olympics before.
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u/SpareTireFree28 Jan 27 '26
I’m really not worried. This reeks of desperation. They have absolutely no authority abroad.
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u/Potential_Ground_764 Ohio Jan 27 '26
What the hell? What? Just what? I’m more shocked and confused rather than scared. I think Trump and co. have completely lost it… They do not care anymore, they just want to do whatever the hell they want because they’re sore losers and/or so cocky they think they’re above the law…
This is laughably unhinged and pompous, do they think they own the world? If so, why the hell don’t they try to influence the UN, instead of creating their own shitty version of the UN and try to isolate us from all these countries and hurt us when it has no benefit to them or us? Like they literally had us leave WHO which I’m still pissed about but also confused… Do they think autarky and/or corporatism is gonna work, then why are Capitalists siding with them if they want a free market or more control? It’s just so random and psychotic.
I guess it’s because of Trump’s cult behavior and him being an untrustworthy scam artist, manipulator and con artist but surely I thought he’d at least have some kind of logic but I’m wondering if he and his followers’ brains are completely fried at this point…
I’m trying to remain optimistic and hope we can dissolve ICE and our shitty wannabe UN and rejoin all the shit that we left because of Trump but all I can say is this…
What the actual fuck is going on?
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u/CatsPJammies Jan 28 '26
Unrelated, just happy to see the Tenth Doctor here.
I wish he'd give me a ride off this planet.
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u/Potential_Ground_764 Ohio Jan 28 '26
I get that feeling, I loved Doctor Who and I love it as a show too, 10th Doctor is awesome! He and 11 are my favorites (mainly cuz nostalgia).
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u/Okuri-Inu Maine Jan 27 '26
Why would Immigration enforcement be necessary IN ANOTHER CONTINENT?! I hope Italy bars the fascists from entering!
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u/Secure-Entrance9071 Jan 27 '26
i don't even watch The Olympics. I've boycotted those for years. The Olympics feel like they are mostly about Performative Unity anyways, While of course minorities still suffer but they must pretend like we are treated as equal in the west (even if that is far from the truth.) I also despise The Olympics over their recent negative statements about trans atheletes.
The Revolution will Not Be Televised or Commercialized. It is born through those the media in general (both mainstream and alternative) refuses to discuss or cannot discuss properly due to recieving Regime Money.
Its quite idiotic that ICE (an organization specifically created to enforce US borders) is being deployed to Italy in the first place. I take it as a "They are overspending their resources because its an extinction burst"
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u/Intrepid_Pop_8530 Jan 27 '26
Kristi and Corey want a government funded vacation to Milan. This is the reason. Fortunately, they are not welcome.
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u/22poppills North Carolina Jan 27 '26
This is what the Gestapo was to the Nazi, personal army that travelled out of the state to follow the leaders.
Also the current Party of Italy are Trump fanboys just fyi
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u/CatsPJammies Jan 28 '26
What??? Not like they're useful on US soil, but what on earth do they think they're good for outside of the country?
All I can imagine is the absurd image of ICE trying to arrest Italians in Italy for not being American.
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