The state of emergency will be backed by initial funding of 5 million euros ($5.45 million), the ministry for sea and civil protection said, and will last for six months.
"Let it be clear, we are not solving the problem, the solution can only depend on responsible intervention by the European Union," said Nello Musumeci, the civil protection minister.
The measure will allow Giorgia Meloni's right-wing government to more quickly repatriate those not allowed to stay in Italy, boosting identification and expulsion orders, a government source said.
The government, in office since October, has pledged to curb mass immigration but some 31,300 migrants have arrived in Italy so far in 2023, interior ministry data shows, up from around 7,900 in the same period last year.
($1 = 0.9176 euros)Reporting by Angelo Amante, editing by Gavin Jones and Deepa BabingtonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.