What are the parties' proposals on immigration?
In this sense, the Bossi-Fini legislation collides with some recent debates that have seen the forces of the right and left take sides in two opposing positions: the ius scholae, the ius soli and in general the right to obtain of citizenship by foreign citizens.
What the programs say:
Popular union League Possible Democratic party 5-star movement Action-Italia Viva Center-right coalition Forza Italia Fratelli d'Italia Italexit + Europe Green Alliance - Italian Left The stories of ordinary injustice of 3 Italians without citizenship Income brackets, competitions denied, discrimination in sport, exclusion from trips and Erasmus, precluded careers: while we are discussing ius scholae, the cases of how it hurts us not to extend citizenship to people of foreign origin Popular Union The political strength of the former mayor of Naples, Luigi De Magistris, proposes quite concrete actions, aimed at a change both in the approach and in the look at the issue of immigration. First of all, it provides for the abolition of the Minniti and Salvini decrees: both have been widely contested by associations and activists for the rights of migrants since they entered into force (the first in 2017 and the second in 2018), and despite the changes significant contributions made during the two Conte governments, together with the Bossi-Fini law continue to form the framework of the legislation that regulates the phenomenon of immigration in Italy. For reasons of consistency, the party is therefore also calling for the abolition of Bossi-Fini itself.
Like the other left-wing parties, Up requires the approval of the ius soli and proposes to guarantee Italian citizenship to the children of immigrants in our country. For those who do not fall into these two categories, the People's Union aims to amend the citizenship law of 1992, establishing the period of stay in five years to apply for full recognition of civil, social, economic and political rights.
In the program, the party also refers to the closure of the detention centers for repatriation (CPR), which host foreign citizens awaiting removal from our country for a maximum period of 90 days, and to need not to renew bilateral agreements with the Libyan government (and others) for the management of immigration.
Lega The party's workhorse has long been the fight against terrorism and irregular immigration. The Carroccio rejects the structural character of the migratory phenomenon, imposing on the contrary an emergency definition of it. Consequently, unlike the left-wing parties that demand its abolition, Salvini's League promotes the strengthening - in a not too specific way - of the Bossi-Fini law. In addition, new security decrees would be the regulatory tool through which to combat illegal immigration, and protect public and urban security. As announced by the position taken by the party especially in recent months, the electoral program also clearly contrasts the ius soli or the ius scholae in matters of citizenship.
As for the agreements with foreign states, the leaguers aim to strengthen the Memorandum of understanding signed with Libya and with the so-called "Libyan Coast Guard", of which newspapers and external observers from all over the world report the serious human rights violations against migrants. Patrols are also envisaged and the establishment of hotspots directly in Mohammed al-Menfi's Libya and in the neighboring Tunisian state, but also incentives for the presentation of asylum applications in one's own country of origin or in Italian diplomatic offices. The party also hopes for better collaboration with Turkey by President Recep Tayyp Erdoğan, an important stage in numerous migratory flows to the European Union.
In addition to the reintroduction of the Sprar, the protection system for asylum seekers and refugees (while the other political forces are asking for the expansion of the Reception and Integration System) Salvini aims at lowering the daily allowance for each migrant to 25 euros and at the introduction of a new Code of Conduct for non-governmental organizations that work at sea of rescue operations, with clear administrative and criminal consequences.
To understand if a migrant arrives or not from a country in conflict, a point on which the propaganda of Salvini's League has beaten a lot in recent years, the program calls for a revision of the list of so-called safe countries: adopted after the Salvini decree in 2019, the list of people who cannot be expelled from the Italian territory now includes Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Senegal, Serbia, Montenegro, Tunisia, Ukraine, Ghana, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Cape Verde, Morocco .
Contrary to the positions of the left, the party proposes CPR in every region, where migrants waiting to be expelled from our country should reside for a period of 180 days (double the current one). As for the education and training of the "second generations" of immigrants, the League proposes programs that are not too specific.
Possible In line with the requests of the People's Union, Possible of Civati also asks for the overcoming of the Dublin Regulation, the introduction of the ius soli, the abolition of the security decrees, the Bossi-Fini law and in general the birth of a European asylum and migration system. Also in this case the intentions are quite clear but not much space is given to the actions that you want to take to make them concrete. Possibile then puts on the plate three almost invisible points in the other electoral programs: the legal recognition of the status of climate refugee, the possibility for people who emigrate to our country to access international protection also for reasons of racism, sexism, gender violence and homotransphobia; the need to avoid cases of secondary victimization due to the inadequacy of border control practices.
Democratic party The party of the secretary Enrico Letta talks about the reception and integration of immigrants, mostly with regard to the labor market, proposing the creation of a coordination agency for migration policies that would manage the integration of migrants into society and the world of work.
The Democratic Party also joins the other center-left parties for the abolition of the Bossi-Fini law, replacing which it proposes the approval of a new law on immigration that aims at entering our country for work reasons and on the basis of indications from the third sector. Without other explanations, the bill does not seem very different from the one in force, and it is not clear how the association sector should support the government in managing migration flows. Unlike Lega and Possibile, the Democratic Party tends to strengthen the reception and integration system (Sai).
The "eyes" of the European Union on the sea are swarms of drones The agency for maritime safety, Emsa, has developed over the years numerous contracts for drone services to be used to monitor movements in European seas, and has become a trusted ally of Frontex. The first episode of the sportsgaming.win investigation based on the official documents and contracts of Emsa Movimento 5 stelle The policy document of the pentastellate political force is also very concise on the issue of immigration. In addition to the adoption of a European mechanism to manage migratory flows and search and rescue operations, the five stars are aiming at a better distribution of immigrants among the member countries of the Union and the introduction of the ius scholae resulting from the completion of a or more cycles of studies in Italy. With this move, Conte's party demonstrates that it adheres to a concept of citizenship based on academic merit rather than on the recognition of fundamental rights regardless of the conditions in which a migrant person finds himself.
Action-Italia Viva Quite similar to what was proposed by Salvini's League, the Calenda-Renzi duo proposes a cooperation agreement with the countries of origin and transit of migrants arriving in our country, with a view to to favor a regular migratory flow based on the "needs of the labor market". The parties then insist on the distinction between humanitarian refugees and economic migrants: for the latter, the program proposes the reintroduction of the figure of the sponsor, with the function of accompanying migrants in the integration process in our country.
Ius scholae instead for those who have completed 5 years of training in Italy, and for foreign students who have gone to university in our country, as suggested by the 5-star Movement. The parties of Calenda and Renzi also speak of a common European asylum system, aimed at overcoming the Dublin regulation. In support of the immigration discourse, the parties are promoting the establishment of a ministry for Migration, an institution that will contain the work that is now carried out in tandem by different ministries.
Center-right coalition In the programmatic document that unites Lega, Fratelli d'Italia, Forza Italia and Noi moderati the issue of immigration is touched upon in synthesis and always in relation to the issue of national and urban security. A generic contrast to irregular immigration is supported by the reintroduction of the security decrees that had been modified during the Conte bis government: very restrictive regulations on immigration (and on the issue of urban security) strongly debated but nevertheless entered into force at the behest of Matteo Salvini as former Minister of the Interior of the Conte I government
Forza Italia The party born in 2013 after the split of the Popolo della Libertà includes a few points in the program on the theme of immigration: the most concrete is the establishment of a "European Marshall Plan of Aid for Africa", which therefore maintains the collaboration agreements with the North African states already in place. Silvio Berlusconi then insists on a mandatory redistribution of migrants in European countries, with the consequent joint management of repatriation.
Brothers of Italy Giorgia Meloni's party goes without delaying too much to a narrative that has been present in Italian politics for some time. In the FdI program, immigration and security go hand in hand, suggesting that one is related to the other. Meloni also talks about maintaining agreements with North African countries and equitable distribution of migrants arriving in our country. The party remains generic on other points such as the blocking of landings to stop trafficking, the fight against NGOs considered a means of promoting illegal immigration and incentives for Italians who intend to return to Italy from abroad. In the QR code proposed to deepen the immigration and security topic, Meloni talks about increasing municipal video surveillance, the fight against degradation and more commitment to the Safe Roads operation. In addition to a generic "social and work inclusion of legal immigrants", no practical solution is indicated for the management of the migratory phenomenon.
Italexit The party founded by the exile from the 5-star Movement Gianluigi Paragone almost shares total the instances of the center-right. Also in this case, security and immigration run along the same track, placing the ban on "wild immigration" close to the need for policies for the management of the suburbs and the need for greater fiscal controls on the economy run by foreigners. Overcoming the policies of the previous yellow-red and yellow-green governments does not provide for the implementation of concrete initiatives, other than the hiring of law enforcement personnel and "investments that allow the most recent technological equipment to be used in a synergistic way".
+ Europa In the program of Emma Bonino's party the proposals on the subject of immigration are included in the paragraph "rights and citizenship", within which + Europa reports its positions in very broad terms and on very different. Among legal euthanasia, legalization of cannabis, guaranteed access to voluntary termination of pregnancy and other civil rights, there is also the introduction of the ius scholae and the request for the abolition of the Bossi-Fini law - in line with other leftist parties. In line with the proposal for a Popular Union, the program mentions the need to interrupt the renewal of the memorandum of understanding between the Italian and Libyan governments. As proposed by Action and Italia Viva, + Europa would also like to reintroduce the figure of the “sponsor”, to which it adds the overcoming of the Dublin Regulation.
Green Alliance-Italian Left Unlike the other parties, Green Europe and the Italian Left speak of the need for radical change in Bossi-Fini, supplanted by a European management of migration and supported by a discourse on immigration that looks to statistical data and does not feed on populist narratives. As already expressed by other center-left parties, the program requires a review of the Italy-Libya agreements and the cancellation of funding to the so-called "Libyan coast guard". In addition to the closure of the Cpr and facilitations in terms of registration and maintenance of residence for immigrants, the two parties are also relaunching a new law on citizenship (which unites ius soli and ius scholae) as well as the extension of the right of asylum also to climate refugees.
[This article will be updated following the publication of the programs]
