The Italian government is cracking down on a rise in asylum seekers by drawing up an emergency decree which will fast track extradition orders.
Under the new system, asylum seekers will lose their automatic right to appeal against instructions to leave the country. They will also be denied access to a free lawyer. New ‘expulsion’ camps are also planned, as ministers seek to strengthen Italy’s repatriation arrangements with Tunisia, Egypt and Nigeria.
According to official statistics, 181,000 immigrants arrived in Italy in 2016. Most are thought to have arrived by boat from Libya. Of 90,000 asylum cases examined last year, about 55,000 were thrown out, but the vast majority went on to lodge an appeal, officials say.
Reflecting growing unrest among the Italian population, Marco Minniti, the interior minister, told parliament last week: “We have to welcome and integrate those who have a right to stay, and send home the others.”
The new rules mean that immigrants will still be able to take their case to the Supreme Court, but only if they can afford to pay for a lawyer. However, the Italian government is going to provide another 250 experts to hear asylum seekers’ initial requests. “The process will be much more streamlined but people’s rights will not be diminished,” Andrea Orlando, the justice minister, said on Friday.
Throughout Europe, support for Muslim immigration has dipped significantly.
A study of more than 10,000 people by London-based think-tank The Royal Institute of International Affairs found that 55 per cent of Europeans across 10 countries think further immigration from mostly-Muslim countries should stop.
Researchers quizzed citizens from Britain, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Hungary and Poland. The poll was taken before Donald Trump issued an executive order banning the citizens of seven Muslim-majority states from entering the US.
