ROME, SEPTEMBER 21 – For the center-right, this is a reversal of the Bossi-Fini law. For the center-left, it's an act of civility as well as a necessary adjustment to European standards. The fact remains that, by approving the EU law for this year, the majority in the Chamber of Deputies has given an initial push to the immigration regulations sought by the House of Freedoms.
During the examination of the Community law (the provision that annually implements European directives), two government amendments were accepted that change the current rules on the right to asylum.
The issue is simple: today, to be eligible for refugee status, you must come from a region of the world experiencing violence and be on a special list. If your application is rejected, you are put on the first available plane and sent back to your country of origin.
With the amendments of Montecitorio, which now they pass to the Senate for examination, the rules become more flexible. ‘Political asylum can be requested by citizens of any country, and not only by those coming from "hot" areas".
Between the lines of the amendment, 'is the possibility of granting refugee status to gays coming from countries where homosexuality is considered a crime.
Furthermore, in case of rejection of the application, Immigrants will be able to appeal and remain in Italy until the end of the procedure.
When it came to the vote on the law (246 yes votes, 84 no votes, and 106 abstentions), the majority voted unanimously in favor, while the opposition was divided: the League and National Alliance voted against the community law, while Forza Italia and the UDC preferred to abstain for reasons of European etiquette ("We are against the distortion of the Bossi-Fini law, but we couldn't vote against the community law, we've never done so," explained Forza Italia member Antonio Leone).
But all opposition groups are thundering against the center-left's decision. Lega member Roberto Calderoli claims that the new rules will "amnesty 550,000 illegal immigrants.".
""It will be enough to declare oneself gay," the Northern League senator worries, "to have the right to remain in Italy." For Carlo Giovanardi, a former UDC minister, the Prodi government continues "the reckless policy of letting the whole world know that illegal immigrants can arrive in Italy by any means and then manage to stay." Other opposition MPs, such as Fabio Rampelli (AN), point the finger at "the help the new rules will provide to traffickers of illegal immigrants.".
Expressing satisfaction with the law's approval, Communist Refoundation Party (RIF) transgender MP Vladimir Luxuria said: "The law passed by the Chamber implicitly also applies to all those who are discriminated against and punished, in some cases even with death, because of their sexual orientation. Italy has taken a fundamental step towards the full and complete affirmation of the right to life.".
But the clash on immigration in Parliament is just beginning. The Chamber's Constitutional Affairs Committee is currently discussing the new citizenship law (which grants Italian citizenship to non-EU citizens after five years of residency).
The League is promising a fight; and in the meantime, members of the Northern League have introduced a bill to establish separate classes for non-EU students with learning disabilities.
