Italy’s leftist government grants 600,000 illegal migrants amnesty

Italy’s leftist government grants 600,000 illegal migrants amnesty

By Arthur Lyons 15 May 2020

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Via Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Italy’s leftist-establishment government earlier this week moved ahead with plans to grant amnesty to 600,000 illegal migrants living in the country, despite widespread opposition.
As Teresa Bellanova, Italy’s pro-mass migration Agriculture Minister, signed the bill which granted six-month residency permits to illegal migrants working in the agricultural and domestic sectors into law on Wednesday, she cried tears of joy, Il Giornale reports.
The new decree has faced considerable criticism from inside and outside of Italy’s ruling coalition. The Five Star Movement, which rules alongside the Left-wing establishment Democratic Party (PD), had initially lobbied for one month residency permits to be granted to the migrant laborers, but failed to impress their will upon the seemingly more powerful PD.
Outside of the ruling coalition, Right-wing populists like Matteo Salvini of the League Party and Giorgia Meloni of Brothers of Italy (FdI) argued that the Agriculture Minister’s tears were entirely misplaced.
Responding to Bellnova’s antics, Salvini said: “Minister Bellanova’s tears for the poor immigrants, with no reference to the millions of unemployed Italians, do not move anyone.”
“Instead of securing jobs for the millions of unemployed Italians and the many regular and respectable immigrants present in Italy, the government thinks of an amnesty for thousands of illegal immigrants,” the former interior minister also said.
Giorgia Meloni also took the opportunity to blast the minister’s stunt, saying: “Hundreds, perhaps thousands of Italians have cried, perhaps at night, secretly from their children, crushed by desperation for losing everything, or for fear of losing everything. help that never came.”
Senator Stefano Candiani of Salvini’s League party has vowed to oppose the decree in every way possible.
“We will do everything democratically in our possession to stop this wicked project, we will collect signatures, if necessary, to promote a referendum and force them to the polls, where the Italians will punish them severely.”
The new decree is expected to affect between 500,000 and 600,000 illegal migrants in the country.

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