by Kurt Zindulka
Giorgia Meloni’s conservative government has begun sending illegal migrants from Italy to offshore processing detention centres in Albania, with the maiden ship setting sail from the island of Lampedusa and arriving on Wednesday.
Ten Egyptian and six Bengali migrants were removed from Italy aboard the naval Libra patrol ship on Monday on a journey to the port town of Shengjin in northwestern Albania, docking at the town on Wednesday morning.
“The first ship that will take irregular migrants to the repatriation centres set up in Albania has left Lampedusa,” Brothers of Italy MP Sara Kelany said per Il Giornale as it departed. “We have built a replicable and effective model to manage clandestine arrivals, alleviate the migratory pressure on Italy and strengthen our internal security.”
The migrant removals mark the fruition of a long-awaited plan from the Meloni government in Rome, which negotiated a deal with Tirana to house up to 36,000 migrants per year in detention centres.
The €670 million ($730m/£560m) five-year deal will allow migrants to be held offshore while their asylum claims are processed rather than allowing the illegals to remain in Italy. While the centres will be in Albania, Italy will still be responsible for security, and the properties will technically remain under Italian jurisdiction.
Under the scheme, migrants will be held for up to four weeks in the detention centres. Should Italian authorities deem them worthy of asylum, they will be transferred to migrant centres in Italy. However, should their claims be determined to be spurious, they will be sent back to their country of origin.