Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's conservative government has begun shipping illegal migrants from Italy to offshore processing detention centers in Albania, with the maiden ship leaving Lampedusa and arriving on Wednesday.
Ten Egyptians and six Bengali migrants were transferred from Italy on Monday aboard the Navy Libra patrol ship bound for the northwestern Albanian port city of Shenjin, where it docked on Wednesday morning.
“The first ship carrying irregular migrants to the repatriation center established in Albania has left Lampedusa,” said Italian Brotherhood Member of Parliament Sara Kelanyi. said around Il Giornale When I left. “We have built a replicable and effective model to manage clandestine immigration, reduce migration pressure on Italy and strengthen internal security.”
The deportations mark the realization of a long-awaited plan by Rome's Meloni government, which negotiated a deal with Tirana to hold up to 36,000 migrants a year in detention centers.
of 670 million euros The five-year deal ($730 million/£560 million) allows migrants to be detained abroad while their asylum claims are processed, rather than keeping them in Italy. Although the center will be located in Albania, Italy will continue to be responsible for security and the facility will remain technically under Italian jurisdiction.
Under this system, migrants will be held in detention centers for up to four weeks. If Italian authorities deem them worthy of asylum, they will be transferred to immigration centers in Italy. However, if their claims are determined to be false, they will be sent back to their country of origin.
Rome hopes that sending migrants directly to Albania will deter further attempts by foreigners to reach Albania, even though it is unlikely that all illegal immigrants will be removed under this plan. are.
Meloni's government initially took a hard-line campaign stance against illegal immigration (e.g. naval blockade It was intended to deter illegal crossings in the Mediterranean, but it never materialized.
But Meloni's multifaceted approach to the crisis is starting to bear fruit, including signing agreements with African countries and cracking down on “migrant taxi” NGO boats. According to Home Office statistics, illegal immigration this year has fallen by more than 61 percent compared to 2023.
If Albania's plan is also successful, it could embarrass Britain's Labor government, which scrapped a similar plan with Rwanda as one of its first steps after coming to power in July. Albanian model too reportedly It is being considered in Brussels as a potential framework for the EU to deal with illegal migration into the bloc.
The removal of illegal immigrants has been criticized by globalist organizations such as Amnesty International. I'm saying “We have strong concerns about possible human rights violations by Italy with respect to the measures set out in the Protocol, in particular with regard to general detention, automatic detention, and search and rescue operations at sea,” it said. It's an international obligation. ”
