The Italian Government will approve this Monday the opening of new repatriation centers for irregular immigrants and the extension of the time that can be retained in them up to 18 monthsin the midst of a crisis due to the arrival of more than 10,000 people to the island of Lampedusa in just three days.
The Council of Ministers of the far-right Giorgia Meloni is meeting to approve a decree-law that tasks the Ministry of Defense with the construction “as soon as possible” of the so-called CPR, centers where irregular immigrants await their expulsion, sources have told EFE. governmental.
In the country there are a dozen of these facilities distributed between Turin, Rome, Bari or Brindisi, but the intention is to open one at least in each of the twenty-one Italian regions. The new CPR will be in localities with “low population density that can be easily delimited and monitored,” according to Meloni herself.
On the other hand, the time in which irregular immigrants may be detained before their expulsion will be increased to 18 months. the maximum period allowed by the European Union.
“We will have all the time necessary not only to carry out the necessary investigations, but also to proceed with the repatriation of those who do not have the right to international protection,” Meloni advanced at the beginning of the Council of Ministers. In the case of asylum seekers, the legislation does not change and they may stay for up to 12 months.