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Italy on Friday made a second attempt to detain Europe-bound asylum seekers in Albania after a court deported the first group last month.
The Italian government’s plan to house up to 3,000 asylum seekers in two Italian-run centers in Albania is the cornerstone of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s efforts to curb the flow of illegal migrants into Italy from across the Mediterranean. It becomes.
Her controversial plan suffered a serious setback last month when the first 16 asylum seekers sent to Albania all had to be immediately sent to Italy after they were rescued in the Mediterranean Sea.
Of the first group (all from Bangladesh and Egypt), four were deemed too young or too frail to be placed in the Albanian center. The center will only house healthy adult men from countries deemed “safe” by Rome to return.
Immigration officials in Rome later ruled that the remaining dozen or so had the right to be taken to Italy because their country of origin could not be recognized as a “safe country.”
The court’s ruling infuriated Meloni, who said it was not “a judge’s ability to decide which countries are safe and which are not.” The prime minister’s cabinet then formally declared 19 countries, including Bangladesh and Egypt, as “safe” countries for return.
On Friday, an Italian navy ship brought eight new asylum seekers to the Albanian center, all from Bangladesh and Egypt, as Meloni launched a new effort to test the law.
The latest group was chosen from among hundreds of illegal migrants rescued by Italian authorities in the Mediterranean Sea in recent days. However, within hours of their early morning arrival, it was discovered that one of the men had serious health problems, requiring an emergency transfer to Italy.
The rest are scheduled to appear in court within 48 hours, where an immigration judge must decide whether to approve continued detention in Albania or order deportation to Italy.
Mr Meloni said on Friday that Albania’s plan had come under fire from other European leaders at a summit in Budapest as they were keen to find ways to curb illegal immigration into their countries. He said it had attracted “extraordinary interest.”
Some of her said she had the same concerns about judges denying places the government deems “safe” to return to people who don’t have genuine asylum claims.
According to those rulings, Meloni said there was a “risk of confronting the reality that no country is safe” and could undermine efforts to curb illegal immigration.
Under an agreement between Italy and Albania, Rome can hold up to 3,000 people at a time in two Italian-run camps while their asylum applications are examined. Once the process is complete, those whose applications are rejected will be sent back to their home countries, while those deemed eligible will have the right to remain in Italy.
Critics, including Italy’s opposition parties, have denounced the plan as expensive political theater, given that only a small proportion of illegal migrants arriving in Italy are likely to be actually detained. are.
Nearly 2,500 illegal migrants have crossed the Mediterranean Sea and arrived in Italy by boat so far this month, according to Interior Ministry statistics.
