Italy is taking tougher immigration measures to discourage crossings across the Mediterranean

Meloni’s right-wing government is having to manage crises after the small Italian island of Lampedusa faced a new large group of migrant arrivals last week. Meloni, who runs a coalition with the far-right League and the conservative Forza Italia, was elected last year on a promise to tackle illegal immigration.

The government, which heard Meloni’s case, decided on Monday, among other things, to extend the maximum period of detention from 135 days to 18 months. This would give the government more time to organize the return of people who are not entitled to asylum.

Italy currently has nine detention centers across the country, including Rome, Milan and Bari. The capacity of these centers is 1,161 places. According to Italian authorities, migrants stayed there for an average of 40 days in 2022. In total, nearly 6,400 people passed through the border last year, almost half of whom were repatriated.

Meloni also asked the Ministry of Defense to open additional centers “as soon as possible.” At the end of last year, the government had already allocated 42.5 million euros for new centers, which should preferably be opened in rural areas with low population density to reduce inconvenience in cities.

More than 127,000 migrants have arrived in Italy since the beginning of this year, compared to 66,200 in 2022. Last week, about 8,500 migrants arrived in Lampedusa in three days, more than the island’s total population. There is only a maximum reception capacity of 400 people.

Meloni also launched a new call on Sunday for other EU member states to show solidarity and welcome migrants during a visit to Lampedusa with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.