On Italy’s southernmost island, Lampedusa, thousands of migrants crowded a reception center built for 600, as small boats hailing from Tunisia kept arriving.
Outside Rome, a bus carrying migrants en route from Sicily to a center in the north crashed into a truck on Friday, killing the drivers of both vehicles and injuring 19 migrants.
The huge challenges posed by immigration were in the spotlight again in Italy this week, undermining the efforts of the far-right ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to show that she had made progress in dissuading migrants from coming.
In the years leading up to her election last year, Ms. Meloni positioned herself as a hard-line opponent to migration, calling for a “naval blockade” and suggesting that the boats used to rescue migrants be sunk once the migrants were taken off them.
Since taking power, she has changed tactics, signing a European Union deal with Tunisia aimed at stemming the flow of migrants from that country, and working with the bloc to facilitate the redistribution of those who do arrive across member states.
Persons:
Giorgia Meloni, Meloni
Organizations:
European Union
Locations:
Lampedusa, Tunisia, Rome, Sicily, Italy