Over Seven in Ten Italians Back Large-Scale Deportations of Illegal Migrants
by Kurt Zindulka
More than seven in ten Italian voters believe that illegal immigrants should be deported and returned to their homeland, as a pro-borders consensus appears to be finally developing in Europe.
According to a survey conducted by Euromedia Research, 73 per cent of the Italian public believe that illegals should be removed from the country. The poll also found that 57 per cent of voters in Italy view illegal immigration as being mostly negative, compared to just 14 per cent who saw it as a positive development.
In comments reported by Il Giornale, Euromedia Research director Alessandra Ghisleri said that “there is broad agreement, across political lines, on the idea that illegal arrivals must be firmly managed,” adding that “a significant portion of the centre-left electorate also shares this view.”
The poll also found that nearly eight in ten Italians viewed the stability of the Mediterranean in general as critical to their own country’s economic and security future. Of those surveyed, 34 per cent saw controlling immigration at sea as the most pressing issue and the greatest risk to regional stability.
“While energy is the second most important concern, adding together migration flows, conflicts, and political instability, it clearly emerges that Italians’ real concern is the overall security of the Mediterranean and Middle East,” Ghisleri said.
Italy, like other European nations along the Mediterranean, saw a major increase in migrants setting sail in often dangerously unseaworthy vessels from the coasts of Northern African countries like Libya, where people-smuggling networks operate. Often, the migrants are only given enough fuel to make half of the journey to Europe, as human traffickers have become aware that pro-open borders NGO ships will come to their rescue and bring them the rest of the way for them.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has seen some success in reducing the number of illegals crossing the Mediterranean during her first term in office by negotiating EU-level deals with the governments of Libya and Tunisia, incentivising them to clamp down on the people-smuggling groups. Yet, migrant boats have continued to set off, and deportation efforts have been outpaced by arrivals, with around six thousand removals compared to over 66,000 illegal arrivals.