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The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), long known for its aggressive deportation practices, has sparked a transatlantic debate on policing, sovereignty, and human rights. In 2026 alone, eight people – including US citizens Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti – have died in clashes with federal immigration agents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or while in DHS custody. Their deaths, recorded on cell phone cameras and shared on social media, sparked protests in Minneapolis, led to increased political scrutiny in the United States, and resonated across Europe.

 

A Record of Fatal Enforcement

ICE was formed under the Homeland Security Act of 2002, following the September 11 terrorist attacks, as a subsidiary of the newly created Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Its responsibilities include enforcing immigration laws, deporting undocumented immigrants, and investigating cross-border criminal activity. Its officers are authorized to detain and arrest individuals suspected of being in the United States illegally, but according to DHS guidelines, they may use force only when they reasonably believe there is an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury.

In practice, however, federal immigration agents’ use of force has repeatedly led to fatalities and controversy. The January 7 killing of Renee Good, a 37-year-old Minneapolis poet and mother of three, by an agent while she was behind the wheel of her car, ignited nationwide protests. Weeks later, Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse and Minneapolis resident, was fatally shot by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents, also part of DHS, while trying to assist a protester who had been tackled during an immigration enforcement operation. Both deaths have been labeled by families and activists as emblematic of ICE’s increasingly militarized and lethal approach to immigration enforcement.

Other deaths in DHS custody this year underscore the agency’s pattern of dangerous neglect. Luis Gustavo Núñez Cáceres, a 42-year-old Honduran immigrant, died in a Texas hospital after being detained for heart-related complications. Geraldo Lunas Campos, a Cuban immigrant, reportedly died in a chokehold at an DHS facility in El Paso. Several others, including Víctor Manuel Díaz, Parady La, Luis Beltrán Yáñez–Cruz, and Heber Sánchez Domínguez, died under circumstances described as suicides or medical emergencies, raising questions about accountability and oversight within DHS detention centers.

ICE in Europe: Security or Symbolic Power?

The agency’s influence is no longer confined to the United States. On January 27, ICE announced that its investigative arm, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), would support U.S. diplomatic security operations at the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. The announcement quickly sparked political protests, as reports suggested ICE personnel could operate on Italian soil during the games.

Milan’s mayor, Giuseppe Sala, called ICE a “militia that kills” and criticized its methods, referencing the agency’s lethal actions in Minneapolis, including the recent deaths of Good and Pretti. Opposition parties in Italy warned that ICE could be given operational authority over security measures – a claim that inflamed public debate. Citizens staged protests, holding “ICE OUT” placards and chanting against the agency’s presence. Former Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte argued that Italy must “set its own boundaries” to prevent what he framed as U.S. overreach.

However, the reality of ICE’s involvement was far more limited. Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani clarified that HSI investigators would work strictly within U.S. diplomatic missions, providing analytical support and sharing intelligence with Italian authorities. They would not conduct arrests, enforce immigration law, or patrol Italian streets. Italy’s Secret Service, alongside local police, would retain exclusive responsibility for Olympic security. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem echoed these reassurances, emphasizing that HSI personnel “will not be operational agents like those assigned to immigration controls in the United States” and will only consult databases and assist with risk assessment.

Observers note that such arrangements are routine for international events with high-profile foreign delegations. For instance, during the 2024 Paris Olympics, foreign law enforcement personnel from 44 countries – including the U.S., Germany, and Qatar – assisted French authorities, without operational policing powers. The U.S. contribution included officers from federal agencies and K-9 units trained in explosive detection, illustrating a long-standing pattern of cross-border cooperation in high-profile events.

Despite the clarifications, public concern remains. Demonstrators argue that allowing ICE personnel into Europe – even in a limited advisory capacity – normalizes a model of enforcement widely criticized for lethal force and civil rights violations. A citizen-led petition in Germany calling for a ban on ICE agents traveling in the European Union has attracted over 300,000 signatures.

French Corporate Entanglements

Europe’s entanglement with ICE is not limited to security cooperation. French multinational Capgemini faced parliamentary scrutiny and public backlash over the activities of its U.S. subsidiary, Capgemini Government Solutions, which signed a contract to track and identify foreigners for ICE. The deal, which represented a fraction of the company’s global revenue, was terminated after questions about ethical accountability and transparency, particularly following the Minneapolis killings. Campaign groups and lawmakers in France criticized the arrangement as facilitating ICE operations that had already resulted in the deaths of U.S. citizens. Capgemini’s divestiture signals that European businesses are being forced to reckon with the reputational and moral consequences of collaborating with an agency accused of systemic human rights abuses.

ICE as a Model for European Far-Right Politics

Perhaps the most concerning aspect of ICE’s transatlantic influence is its adoption as a model by European political movements. In Bavaria, Germany, the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has proposed a specialized deportation unit, the “AFA” (Asyl-, Fahndungs- und Abschiebegruppe), explicitly modeled on ICE. The AFA would consolidate immigration enforcement, increase deportations, and conduct targeted operations to locate undocumented immigrants.

Legal experts and German authorities caution that such a model is incompatible with the country’s legal framework. Nonetheless, the AfD’s proposal reflects a fascination with ICE’s methods, revealing a willingness among far-right parties to emulate U.S.-style aggressive immigration policing.

A Global Debate on Accountability

The deaths of Renee Good, Alex Pretti, and others have made ICE a global symbol of the dangers inherent in militarized immigration enforcement. While the agency continues to expand its personnel, budget, and international footprint, protests from Minneapolis to Milan underscore widespread resistance to the exportation of its model. The agency’s presence at international events, the involvement of European corporations, and the inspiration it provides to far-right political movements demonstrate that ICE is no longer merely a domestic issue.

Europeans are being forced to confront the implications of ICE’s methods. The ethical debate spans corporate accountability, diplomatic cooperation, and the potential normalization of aggressive immigration enforcement. As the agency’s influence spreads across borders, the deaths in Minneapolis serve as a strong reminder: policies enacted in the name of immigration control can have immediate and lethal consequences, and those consequences are now being debated not just in U.S. cities, but in European parliaments, streets, and courtrooms.

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