Posted on August 17, 2021

With Populists Out of Govt, Illegal Boat Migrants Up 673 Per Cent in Italy

Chris Tomlinson, Breitbart, August 14, 2021

Illegal migrant landings have increased by nearly sevenfold since leftist Italian Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese took over from Matteo Salvini in 2019.

Earlier this week, Ms Lamorgese, a member of the leftist Democratic Party (PD), admitted that she could not stop the wave of new landings of illegal immigrants that continue to arrive on the shores of Sicily.

{snip}

However, just two years ago, when League (Lega) leader Matteo Salvini served as interior minister in a populist coalition government with the Five Star Movement, he succeeded in dramatically reducing landings to just 4,120 from January 1st to August 10th, 2019.

The number of landings has increased during the same period so far this year to 31,853 — a rise of 673 per cent.

{snip}

Since becoming Interior Minister, Lamogese has also increased the amount of money migrants are given and raised the overall funds spent on their reception, which critics say has acted as a “pull” factor for new arrivals.

{snip}