Italy is attempting to stem the tide of migrants with a new scheme that offers lawyers money to convince their clients to return home.Giorgia Meloni's governmenthas had a new security bill approved by the Senate, and it will be debated by the lower house of the Italian parliament this week.
Under the new legislation, it's reported that lawyers could get bonuses of €615 (£535) for each migrant whom they persuade to agree to "voluntary repatriation". Prime Minister Meloni is understood to have set aside €2460,000 (£213,000) for the scheme this year, with funding expected to double in 2027 and then again in 2028.
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The law also aims to remove access to state-funded legal aid for migrants seeking to challenge deportation orders, accordingto the Telegraph
The newspaper reportsthat Meloni's political opponents and some in the legal profession have poured scorn on the new initiative, with Riccardo Magi, an MP from the centre-left More Europe party, calling it a "Wild West bounty". He added: "We are one step away from ICE.”
ICE, immigration and Customs Enforcement, are the US federal agency used to carry out deportations underDonald Trump's administration.
Italy's national bar council, Consiglio Nazionale Forense (CNF), claimed it was not aware of the new legislation and the Associazione Nazionale Magistrati, a body representing judges and magistrates, said it would oppose the bill on the basis of the effect it might have on migrants' rights.
Prime Minister Meloni has also faced a legal challenge over an entirely different migration issue. Two US families went to Italy's highest court last week to challenge the scope of a year-old law passed by Meloni's government limiting citizenship claims to Italian descendants removed by more than two generations.
Their lawyer, Marco Mellone, argued before the Cassation Court that the law should apply only to people born after it took effect, potentially opening a pathway to citizenship for millions of people living in the United States and parts of Latin America. Another lawyer represented Italian descendants from Venezuela.
Source: Daily Express :: World Feed
