Enrico Rossi, Governor of Tuscany Region has renewed calls for the abolition of the anti-immigrant Bossi-Fini Immigration Law and the immigration-security decrees.
Bossi-Fini, the centre-right government’s immigration legislation entered into force in 2002. It has since been criticised by associations of immigrants, trade unions and employers’ organisations, left and centre-left parties but none has so far made efforts to abolish it.
The security decrees aimed to clampdown on irregular immigration were designed and strongly advocated by the then Interior Minister Matteo Salvini in 2018.
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They tightened the asylum seeking procedures, abolished humanitarian permits for seeking protection, weakened the accommodation and integration systems for asylum seekers, imposed heavy fines on NGOs rescuing boat migrants, and made it possible for detain foreigners up to 180 days before repatriating them.
The decrees also extended the period for examining citizenship applications from two to four years, and created a provision for withdrawal of citizenship to people who accused of certain crimes including terrorism.
Mr Rossi urged Italian politicians to appreciate the contribution of immigrants to the Italian society.
Wrong immigration policies are forcing many immigrants to leave the country, he said, citing the example of Prato where in three years about 190,000 immigrants left the city.
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He called for immigrant friendly policies that guarantee security, access to jobs, and enable people to live peacefully.
The country needs to change immigration policies, make it easier for young immigrants to become Italian citizens, abolish Bossi-Fini law and the unconstitutional and anti-immigrant security decrees designed by Mr Salvini, said Mr Rossi.
Source: Enrico Rossi