A constitutional dispute erupted in Rome as judges blocked a key part of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s plan to send migrants to detention centers in Albania, ordering 12 migrants, mainly from Bangladesh and Egypt, to be returned to Italy.
The court ruled their home countries are unsafe, preventing deportation. This decision raises doubts about the viability of the Albania scheme, which other European nations and EU officials have viewed as a potential model for managing illegal immigration.
Under the Albania scheme, illegal migrants would be sent to detention centers in Albania to have their asylum claims processed offshore rather than staying in Italy.
On Monday, 16 migrants were the first to be sent to these centers, which operate under Italian jurisdiction. Prime Minister Meloni’s government had deemed 22 countries, including Albania, Bangladesh, Egypt, and Nigeria, safe for deportation.
The Italian navy named “Libra” that departed from Lampedusa, Italy two days ago, arrived yesterday in the Albanian port of Shëngjin, carrying the first 16 emigrants originally from Egypt and Bangladesh, to be deportated by the Italy-Albania agreement signed 1 year ago pic.twitter.com/V5GaKfj9yR
— Klodiana Millona (@klodimillona) October 17, 2024
Leftist judges ruled that Egypt and Bangladesh cannot be considered “safe” for deportation, referencing a European Court of Justice decision. The court found that non-EU countries can only be classified as safe if their entire territory is free from dangers like persecution, torture, or indiscriminate violence.
The conservative government criticized the ruling, arguing that elected officials should decide immigration policies. Prime Minister Meloni stated, ““I have convened a council of ministers for next Monday to solve this problem… I think it is not up to the judiciary to say which are the safe countries but to the government.”
Deputy PM Matteo Salvini, an immigration hardliner, described the ruling as an attack on Italy and its citizens by a politicized judiciary, stating that those blocking border defense put the country at risk.
Centrist Deputy PM Antonio Tajani was critical of the ruling, saying: “I am used to respecting the decisions of the judiciary but I would also like the decisions of the executive and legislative branches to be respected, because a democracy is based on the tripartition of powers… The judiciary must apply the laws, not to modify them or prevent the executive from being able to do its job. Power always comes from the people, who have chosen this parliament and this government. The will of the people must always be respected.”
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