Thread: Italy: 35 Egyptian illegal immigrants deported

Italy: 35 Egyptian illegal immigrants deported

Catania, 3 July (AKI) - Thirty-five illegal immigrants were deported from Italy to their native Egypt early on Thursday, the interior ministry said in a statement.

The illegal migrants were put on a charter flight to the Egyptian capital, Cairo that left from the eastern Sicilian city of Catania.

They had been held in the identification and expulsion centre on the southern Italian island of Lampedusa.

Another 38 illegal Egyptian immigrants were repatriated last week, the interior ministry said.

An Egyptian police probe last year revealed that international trafficking rings operating in Libya were smuggling Egyptians into Europe in return for 3,000 dollars for each illegal immigrant.

Dozens of Egyptians have drowned on the journey across the Mediterranean.

Many thousands of illegal immigrants arrive from Africa each year on Lampedusa, which lies between Sicily and Tunisia.

A newer landing-point is the western Italian island of Sardinia. On Wednesday, coastguard reportedly intercepted 20 illegal immigrants from Algeria aged 14-18 off the southern Sardinian coast.

The youngsters had been at sea for three days and were transferred to the island's a temporary reception centre, according to Algerian daily 'Ech Chourouk'.
http://www.adnkronos.com:80/AKI/English ... 2307742022

Hmm, When the Pope was here, he did all he could to enable illegal immigration... I don't see him doing that over there.