Colbert Hypes Italian Communist Demanding ICE Not Go To The Olympics

Alex Christy
January 30th, 2026 10:02 AM

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CBS’s Stephen Colbert did not adequately do his pre-show research on Thursday. During his monologue, The Late Show host hyped Italian politicians demanding ICE “thugs” not be let into the country for security purposes during the Olympics. However, Colbert did not mention the politician using the “thug” label is basically a communist. Later, Colbert would welcome MS NOW’s Jacob Soboroff to continue lamenting all things immigration enforcement.

Amid booing from the audience, Colbert began his Olympic lament by reporting, “It’s time for ICE to get out of there and go to Milan. Because it was just announced that the U.S. will send ICE agents to the Winter Olympics. No! Yes, I agree with all that noise. That's a terrible idea. The only ice I want to see at the Olympics is ice dancing.”

 

 

However, Colbert was forced to concede that ICE does more than deportations, “Technically, DHS is sending a division of ICE Called Homeland Security Investigations. Allegedly, these agents will be there in what they're calling ‘a security role with no patrolling or enforcement.’"

Additionally, ICE has done this at previous Olympics, but Colbert still did not care, “In response to the ICE plan, Italian lawmakers have demanded that their government deny Trump's ‘thugs’ entry to Italy. Well, I'm not surprised. Good for you. Good for you, Italia. I’m not surprised at all. This is America's greatest insult to Italy since Olive Garden's steak gorgonzola Alfredo. Olive Garden. When you're here, the word ‘Sirloin’ has an asterisk.

As The Daily Beast article Colbert cited says, the man who called ICE “thugs” is Nicola Fratoianni. However, neither Colbert nor The Daily Beast reported that he is the secretary for Italian Left, a party that merged with the communist party in 2017. Fratoianni himself joined the Communist Refoundation Party in 1992 after the fall of the Soviet Union and his wife was the former national spokeswoman for Young Communists. Earlier this year, Colbert himself had nice things to say about the Soviet Union.

Later, Colbert asked Soboroff, “We've heard a lot this week about some talk of de-escalation and changing of—some changing of leadership policy there. What's the reality on the ground? What were things like this week?”

Soboroff, who somehow is able to get away with calling himself a journalist, lamented, “The first thing everyone needs to understand is when they say they are going after the worst of the worst, they are doing anything but and frankly it's depraved when I have seen, not just in Minneapolis but in Los Angeles, in Charlotte, in Chicago, in the hallway of 26 Federal Plaza here in New York City.”

 

 

He also lamented, “These are people who want to come here for a better life and you've got people like Greg Bovino going around in military costumes throwing tear gas canisters at people, taking little kids who just want to go to school and sending them to detention centers in Texas. It's awful, quite frankly, but I will say the people in the streets are what has given me extraordinary hope and that's what kicked Greg Bovino out of Minneapolis.”

Colbert then wondered, “You wrote a best-selling book about his family separation policy, and I'm just curious, now compare Trump's immigration policy now to Trump 1. What is different? What's the same? How is it amplified?”

Despite just attacking the administration for sending a 5-year old to Texas with his father, Soboroff claimed, “I would call it a supersized version of the family separation policy. Mass deportation is family separation by another name. It's not family separation at the border.”

Soboroff also huffed, “This program that they’re doing now is modeled after a 1954 program that deported a million Mexicans and some Americans and now they are not just deporting, they’re killing immigrants and American citizens like Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, and that's why we have to be in the cities. That's why I continue to go there and why we continue to spotlight this and why I think, as I said again, it's so extraordinary to watch the American people pushback on this.”

The casual way in which Soboroff declared “they’re killing” people as if there was no context to the situations is why clueless Italian politicians are demanding ICE not be allowed to do what they’ve always done at previous Olympics.

Here is a transcript for the January 29 show:

CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

1/29/2026

11:41 PM ET

STEPHEN COLBERT: It’s time for ICE to get out of there and go to Milan. Because it was just announced that the U.S. will send ICE agents to the Winter Olympics. No! Yes, I agree with all that noise. That's a terrible idea. The only ice I want to see at the Olympics is ice dancing.

Two hotties twirling on skates to an instrumental version of "Me Espresso." Are they married? Are they siblings? I don't care. Strap those high tight butts in some sparkly leotards and make 'em spin for our pleasure!

Technically, DHS is sending a division of ICE Called Homeland Security Investigations. Allegedly, these agents will be there in what they're calling "a security role with no patrolling or enforcement." Of course American ICE won't be doing enforcement in Milan. That's a job for Milan ice or, as they say in Italian, "Gelato." I know, granita. No letters, I know it’s granita. In response to the ICE plan, Italian lawmakers have demanded that their government deny Trump's “thugs” entry to Italy.

Well, I'm not surprised. Good for you. Good for you, Italia. I’m not surprised at all. This is America's greatest insult to Italy since Olive Garden's steak gorgonzola Alfredo. Olive Garden. When you're here, the word "Sirloin" has an asterisk.

…

COLBERT: We've heard a lot this week about some talk of de-escalation and changing of—some changing of leadership policy there. What's the reality on the ground? What were things like this week?

JACOB SOBOROFF: The first thing everyone needs to understand is when they say they are going after the worst of the worst, they are doing anything but and frankly it's depraved when I have seen, not just in Minneapolis but in Los Angeles, in Charlotte, in Chicago, in the hallway of 26 Federal Plaza here in New York City. 

These are people who want to come here for a better life and you've got people like Greg Bovino going around in military costumes throwing tear gas canisters at people, taking little kids who just want to go to school and sending them to detention centers in Texas. It's awful, quite frankly, but I will say the people in the streets are what has given me extraordinary hope and that's what kicked Greg Bovino out of Minneapolis.

COLBERT: The people’s response. The first time we ever spoke-- it actually had to do with your covering of immigration closely during the first Trump administration and you wrote a best-selling book about his family separation policy, and I'm just curious, now compare Trump's immigration policy now to Trump 1. What is different? What's the same? How is it amplified?

SOBOROFF: I would call it a supersized version of the family separation policy. Mass deportation is family separation by another name. It's not family separation at the border.

COLBERT: And family separation itself is one of the most shameful things I can imagine from the first administration.

SOBOROFF: The Republican-appointed judge who stopped the policy called one of the most shameful chapters in the history of our country and Stephen Miller, you know, they separated 5,500 children deliberately from their parents then. He wanted to do 25,000. This program that they’re doing now is modeled after a 1954 program that deported a million Mexicans and some Americans and now they are not just deporting, they’re killing immigrants and American citizens like Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, and that's why we have to be in the cities. That's why I continue to go there and why we continue to spotlight this and why I think, as I said again, it's so extraordinary to watch the American people pushback on this.

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