The fall of Lampedusa threatens: Italy with extraordinary measures

Thousands of people now travel to Lampedusa – more than the population of the island itself. Italy is acting with “extraordinary measures”. But what lies behind it?

Confusion and despair are spreading across Lampedusa. Thousands of people who have fled North Africa and the Middle East due to crises, wars and poverty are now arriving on the small Mediterranean island between Sicily and North Africa – mostly via Tunisia.

Crossing can be life-threatening – and even in Italy people still don’t feel safe. Last week, a newborn baby died when the Coast Guard tried to bring the new arrivals ashore (read more about it here).

Local authorities are overburdened. The city council has declared a state of emergency. Lampedusa, along with the neighboring island of Linosa, actually has a population of less than 6,500. Last week, 6,800 refugees were accommodated in the island’s initial reception center – although there is room for only 600 at most. Several hundred have now been taken to Sicily or the mainland, according to the Red Cross. Nevertheless, the situation remains very tense – and puts Italy and the EU under increasing pressure.

So, Italian far-right leader Giorgia Meloni sees an urgent need to act. He announced “extraordinary measures” to prevent irregular migration to Lampedusa. This Monday, the Cabinet will discuss such measures. Some of the points that will be brought to the table are already known.

By Friday evening, Maloney had already announced decisions to tighten deportation detention and establish deportation detention centers by the military. In particular, the maximum detention for deportation should be increased to 18 months, which is allowed under EU law.

By tightening detention pending deportation, Maloney wants to ensure that those who entered the country illegally can be detained long enough to process their asylum application. This will facilitate deportation.

Also, the Ministry of Defense should be tasked with creating structures to detain migrants who have entered the country illegally. According to Meloni, the facilities should be built in “remote, sparsely populated areas” that can be easily isolated and monitored.

Overall, Meloni called for tougher action against immigrants. People in North Africa should be prevented from going to Europe. Redistributing people across member states will not solve the problem. He said the entire European Union is there to deal with the situation.

Meanwhile, large numbers of people are being taken from the small island to Sicily or to stay on the mainland. On the Tunisian coast, security forces deployed a large force against migrants and smugglers on Saturday. Many were arrested. In return for the financial aid, the EU agreed with Tunisia in the summer that security officials there would do more to crack down on smugglers and abandoned boats.