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U.S. Olympic officials changed the name of the American athletes’ hospitality space from “Ice House” to “Winter House” amid protests in Italy about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) being involved in security measures at the Games and growing outrage about operations in the U.S.
The environment is set to be a space for American Olympic figure skaters, speedskaters and ice hockey players and their families to gather for meet-and-greets, medal celebrations, watch parties and other events, according to Reuters. The venue is set to be featured during NBC’s coverage of the Winter Games.
“Our hospitality concept was designed to be a private space free of distractions where athletes, their families, and friends can come together to celebrate the unique experience of the Winter Games,” U.S. Figure Skating, USA Hockey and U.S. Speedskating said in a joint statement.
“This name captures that vision and connects to the season and the event.”
USA Today first reported the name change.
ICE agents will play a security role for U.S. officials during the Winter Games. U.S. Embassy officials told The Associated Press last week that ICE agents would support diplomatic security details and wouldn’t run any immigration enforcement operations.
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“Obviously, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.
“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.”
Meanwhile, protests broke out in Italy over ICE’s involvement.
“No thank you, from Minnesota to the world, at the side of anyone who fights for human rights,” one banner said, according to The Associated Press. Another said, “Ice only in Spritz.”
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Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said ICE would not be welcome in the city, and he cited images of masked agents in Minneapolis. ICE operations have come under fire since the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Fox News’ Ryan Morik and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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