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The Italian government, led by the far-right Giorgia Meloni, decreed a state of national immigration emergency for the next six months, a measure that could lead to further expulsions of migrants.
The Council of Ministers of Italy declared this Tuesday, April 11, a “state of emergency” in terms of migration valid for six months over its entire territory to try to deal with the massive arrival of migrants.
The promoter of the measure is Nello Musumeci, the Minister of Civil Protection and Maritime Policies, whose proposal would strengthen the structure to expel migrants without the right to asylum. “We have decided to give more effective and faster responses to the management of flows,” said the Executive.
Only in the In the last three days, more than 3,000 people have landed on the Italian coast. But concern about the saturation of the reception system is growing because as weather conditions improve, dozens of boats – many of them in distress – are heading to the country.
What is the state of emergency?
The measure will have financing of five million euros and will be implemented in Italy for six months. Theoretically, it will allow more agile processes and actions for migrants seeking reception. According to the Government, it would help to cope with the arrival of thousands of people in that territory, with the assistance of both Civil Protection and the Italian Red Cross.
The state of emergency is a figure that can be used to cope with extraordinary means and powers unusual eventssuch as natural disasters or calamities. It is for this reason that making it enter into force for immigration purposes is something that worries human rights organizations. Many point to the nationalist stance of Meloni and her cabinet on migration.
According to the norm, a commissioner must be appointed who must comply with the objectives of the measure, such as the “reduction of the risks generated by the waste derived from the catastrophe”, guarantee essential services and help the population affected by the catastrophe; although neither makes sense if what you want to address is a migration crisis.
For some experts, the initiative, rather, seeks to draw the attention of the European Union so that the member countries make joint decisions on the situation, something that Italy has been insisting on for months.
The vice president of the Executive, Matteo Salvini, who promoted anti-immigration actions between 2018 and 2019 such as his refusal to grant landings in ports to humanitarian ships, affirms that “it is crucial that Europe wake up and intervene.”
“He has been chatting for years, but he has never lifted a finger, and it is time to show that there is a community, a Union, and that solidarity is not only the responsibility of Italy, Spain, Greece or Malta. Because a thousand arrivals a day we are absolutely incapable to support them economically, culturally and socially,” he said.
31,000 migrants arrived in the first quarter of 2023
Arrivals in Italy stand at 28,285 in the first quarter of 2023, that is four times more than the 6,938 in the same period of 2022.
The largest number was registered in March, with more than 13,000 people seeking shelter in the country. Only last Friday 1,389 people arrived.
The vast majority of migrants entering Italy come from the Ivory Coast, Pakistan, Guinea and Tunisia. Regularly, they come from the same exit points encouraged by human smuggling networks.
The migrants travel in precarious boats towards the route that connects North Africa with the coasts of Sicily and Lampedusa, whose reception centers are overwhelmed with capacity.
In addition, Italy announced the opening of the Centro di Permanenza per il Rimpatrio, which will facilitate identification and deportation activities for the authorities.
On Tuesday, according to AP figures, some 1,600 migrants remained in the Lampedusa structure, while authorities waited for better weather to move at least 400 off the island.
“There are many women with small children, as well as unaccompanied minors,” the director of the migrant center, Lorena Tortorici, told the Italian television channel ‘Sky TG24’. “We are in an emergency situation. The staff is trying to do what they can,” she added.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Italian government coalitions also imposed a state of emergency, allowing the Council of Ministers to order various response measures by decree, bypassing the parliamentary process for funding and regulation.
“Let’s be clear, this does not solve the problem, whose solution is linked to a conscious and responsible intervention by the European Union,” Musumeci reiterated.
With AP and EFE
