From Florida to Milan, Protests Against U.S. Immigration Enforcement Go Global

Protests against the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies are no longer confined to American streets. Over the past two weeks, demonstrations have erupted from Jacksonville, Florida, to the chambers of Italy’s regional governments, signaling a rare moment when U.S. domestic law-enforcement practices are provoking sustained political backlash abroad.

At the center of the controversy is U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, whose tactics under President Donald Trump have drawn fierce criticism from civil-rights advocates, local officials, and now foreign lawmakers. What began as protests over cooperation agreements between ICE and local police departments has expanded into an international debate over whether the United States can credibly present itself as a welcoming host for global events, including the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.

Domestic protests, widening fractures

In Jacksonville, hundreds of demonstrators gathered downtown this week, demanding that city officials terminate agreements allowing local police to cooperate with ICE on immigration enforcement. Known as “287(g) agreements,” these partnerships deputize local officers to assist federal agents in identifying and detaining undocumented immigrants.

Several law-enforcement officials, including current and former police chiefs, spoke alongside protesters, describing encounters in which off-duty officers were stopped by ICE agents and questioned about their legal status. “Our officers know the Constitution,” one speaker said. “They know when people are being targeted without cause. If this can happen to us, imagine what’s happening to our communities every day.”

The Jacksonville demonstration followed similar protests in Minneapolis and other cities after two recent incidents in which ICE agents were involved in fatal shootings. Federal authorities have said the cases are under review and that agents acted within their rules of engagement. Civil-rights groups dispute that characterization and are calling for independent investigations.

The administration has defended its approach, arguing that aggressive enforcement is necessary to restore order after years of what it calls “unchecked illegal immigration.” But even some local law-enforcement leaders have warned that the strategy risks undermining trust between police and immigrant communities, making routine policing more difficult.

Italy pushes back

The backlash took on a new dimension this week in Italy, where lawmakers protested the reported involvement of U.S. immigration agents in security preparations for the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, scheduled for February 2026.

At the Lombardy Regional Council, members of Italy’s center-left Democratic Party staged a demonstration, holding signs and chanting slogans denouncing what they described as “thuggish squads” and calling for a ban on any role for ICE in Olympic security. “We do not want forces associated with civilian deaths or chaotic policing here,” one lawmaker said during the protest.

Milan’s mayor echoed the sentiment, saying publicly that ICE’s reputation in the United States made it “incompatible with our way of handling such a delicate issue as security.” Former Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte urged the government to block ICE participation entirely, arguing that Italy’s democratic framework should not be associated with an agency facing such intense criticism at home.

The Italian foreign minister struck a more cautious tone, describing the reported arrangement as routine international cooperation. “When there is a major event, international police cooperation is necessary,” he said, emphasizing that any U.S. personnel would operate under Italian authority and would not enforce immigration law.

ICE, in a statement, said that its Homeland Security Investigations unit would support the U.S. Department of State’s diplomatic security service in protecting American officials, including Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who are expected to attend Olympic events. The agency stressed that it would not conduct immigration enforcement in Italy.

Those assurances have done little to quiet critics. “This is not fringe activism,” said an Italian political analyst. “These are mainstream lawmakers willing to risk diplomatic friction to distance themselves from an American policy they view as toxic.”

Diplomatic ripples

The Italian protests follow another unusual diplomatic incident in Minneapolis, where an ICE agent attempted to enter Ecuador’s consulate during an enforcement operation. Consular officials blocked the agent, citing diplomatic protections, and Ecuador’s government later filed a formal protest with the U.S. Embassy. The State Department declined to comment on the specifics, but the episode added to perceptions abroad that American immigration enforcement has become confrontational and legally aggressive.

Taken together, the incidents have fueled broader questions about whether the United States can host major international gatherings without exporting domestic controversies. European commentators have increasingly linked immigration enforcement, protest policing, and visa policies into a single narrative: that the U.S. is becoming a difficult and unpredictable destination for mass tourism and global sport.

World Cup concerns resurface

Those anxieties are now bleeding into discussions about the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which the United States is set to co-host with Canada and Mexico. Human-rights groups and some European officials have raised concerns that aggressive immigration enforcement near airports, stadiums, or fan zones could intimidate visiting supporters and players.

While no national team has called for a boycott, the idea—once unthinkable—has entered mainstream debate. “The issue isn’t whether ICE will patrol stadiums,” said a European sports governance expert. “It’s whether the images of raids, protests, and confrontations create a perception that fans are not welcome.”

FIFA has declined to comment on the protests, reiterating its longstanding position that sports should remain separate from politics. Yet history suggests that such separation is difficult to maintain when host-country policies directly affect travel, safety, and civil liberties.

A reputational test

For the Trump administration, the international backlash represents a new challenge. Immigration enforcement has long been a domestic political flashpoint, but it rarely provokes organized opposition in foreign legislatures. That Italy—an ally and fellow NATO member—would openly question cooperation with a U.S. agency underscores how far the controversy has spread.

Supporters of the administration argue that foreign critics misunderstand American law enforcement and that ICE is being unfairly demonized. “Every country enforces its borders,” a former Homeland Security official said. “What’s happening here is politics, not policy.”

Opponents counter that perception itself has consequences. “Global events are built on trust,” said an international relations scholar. “When allies start to view your security agencies as destabilizing rather than reassuring, that trust erodes.”

An unresolved moment

Whether the protests in Jacksonville and Milan mark a turning point or a temporary flare-up remains unclear. ICE continues to operate under federal authority, and U.S. officials insist that international cooperation around the Olympics will proceed as planned. But the episode has already reshaped the conversation.

What began as localized anger over enforcement tactics has become a broader referendum on how American power is exercised—and perceived—abroad. As preparations for the Olympics and the World Cup accelerate, the United States faces an unusual test: not of logistics or infrastructure, but of whether its approach to immigration and protest policing can coexist with its ambitions to host the world.