Italy tightens laws against illegal immigrants

The Italian government issued new measures on Monday to curb the flow of migrants, including the establishment of more detention centers and an extension of the detention period for irregular migrants.

With a significant increase in the number of arrivals on the small Italian island of Lampedusa, where approximately 8,500 migrants arrived within three days last week, the far-right government seeks to find a solution to the crisis.

Prime Minister Georgia Meloni promised on Sunday that her government would tighten laws, particularly by extending the maximum detention period for irregular migrants from 135 days to 18 months.

Meloni stated, "This means, and I send this very clear message to all of Africa, if you entrust your fate to human traffickers to violate Italian laws, you should know that upon your arrival in Italy, you will be detained and then deported."

The Cabinet approved the extension of the detention period on Monday, according to a government source cited by Agence France-Presse. The decision must now be voted on in parliament.

This reform will exempt Italian authorities from their legal obligation to deport foreigners subject to expulsion orders to the border if the deportation procedures are not completed within the currently prescribed 135-day timeframe.

After reaching the shores of Italy, the vast majority of migrants are sent to reception centers across the country where they await the processing of their asylum requests.

Migrants scheduled for deportation are transferred to detention centers for undocumented foreigners, of which there are nine in Italy, including in Bari (south), Rome (central), and Milan (north).

According to the prison oversight authority, migrants spent an average of forty days in these centers in 2022.

The maximum detention period in Italy was 18 months between 2011 and 2014, before being reduced by the left-wing government led by Matteo Renzi.

Responding to an Agence France-Presse inquiry regarding the potential impact of these measures, Alfonso Giordano, an immigration expert and professor at Rome's University of Roma Tre, said, "I don't think it will be a significant deterrent or sufficient to convince people fleeing far worse conditions than they face here."



AFP