«We were able to maintain another commitment that we had made with the citizens in our centre-right government program: that is, the possibility, in the event of serious threat to public order or national security (such as the risk of terrorism but also exceptional migratory pressure), to prevent the crossing of Italian territorial waters and to take the migrants who are on board those boats, subject to the ban, even to third countries”, declared the resident of Palazzo Chigi, and then added: “We now appeal to Parliament to quickly approve these rules”. «Let’s see how many of the political forces who come on TV to say that the government doesn’t do enough for security will also be willing to lend us a hand to guarantee that security. We are doing our best, we just hope that everyone will do their part without creating imaginative obstacles with a clear ideological flavour”, concluded the Prime Minister.
Opposition against the crackdown on CPR
The opposition, meanwhile, are on a war footing, claiming that the The bill would limit the inspection powers of parliamentarians within the CPR. «Scrolling through the articles of the bill on immigration approved by the Council of Ministers, we learned with dismay that there is a rule aimed at limiting the inspection powers of parliamentarians within the detention facilities for migrants. We ask for an intervention from the President of the Chamber to remove this rule which limits a parliamentary prerogative which finds its foundation in the constitutional provisions”, thundered Riccardo Magi of Più Europa. “The CPRs are black holes of law and the government wants to deny parliamentarians the possibility of verifying the conditions in which people who have not committed any crime are detained”, said Francesca Ghirra of Avs. “In fact, the right of parliamentarians to access the CPR and understand the situation is significantly limited”, also said the dem Matteo Mauri, who asked the presidents of the Chambers to “defend the democratic prerogatives of parliamentarians”. “We must protect the right of parliament itself,” further declared Alfonso Colucci of the 5 Star Movement.
The position of NGOs and criticisms on the right to asylum
Needless to say, they showed themselves to be against the bill NGO. «We find it unacceptable that the government considers people at risk of drowning in the Mediterranean and the people who try to save them as a threat to national security. These rules do not make the state safer. What is instead endangering the rule of law is the government, which chooses to suspend the rule of law in cities and at sea, to limit the right to asylum, to criminalize those who demonstrate or those who save lives”, stated in a joint note Alarm Phone, Emergency, Doctors Without Borders, Mediterranea Saving Humans, Open Arms, ResQ People Saving People, Sea-Watch, SOS Humanity and SOS Mediterranee.
Integrated surveillance and accelerated returns
We remember that, as underlined the day before yesterday by Palazzo Chigi, the provision «enhances the border prevention measuresimplementing a border defense strategy that aims to drastically reduce irregular departures.” In particular, the text establishes «a system of integrated surveillance which allows preventive action on migratory routes”, also speeding up repatriation procedures at the border for subjects with “manifestly unfounded requests”. In short, it is one crackdown on illegal immigrationaimed at increasing deterrence against irregular migratory flows.
