Matteo Salvini, defended this Thursday (5), in a campaign for the September 25 legislative elections, its anti-immigration policy on the Italian island of Lampedusa, which continues to record thousands of landings.
“Lampedusa is a gateway to Europe, it cannot be a European refugee camp”, argued Salvini in statements to journalists after a visit to the island's reception center.
“Those who have the right to come to Italy come by plane, not by boat, risking their lives. Those who don't have the right don't come“, added the leader of the League, who wants asylum requests to be carried out in centers in migration countries, in North Africa.
In recent days, dozens of precarious and overloaded vessels have entered the waters of Lampedusa, located about a hundred kilometers east of the Tunisian coast, in the heart of the Mediterranean.
As often happens in the summer months, when milder weather reduces the risk of travel from North Africa, the island's reception center is overwhelmed, with more than 1.500 people registered despite four times less capacity.
During Thursday morning in Lampedusa, hundreds of immigrants were removed to be transported by boat to Sicily. According to Salvini, the authorities tried to “hide” them before their arrival.
The Italian senator makes controlling immigration and closing borders to illegal immigrants the cornerstone of his program.
The League is competing in the September 25th legislature with its allies Forza Italia (right) and Brothers of Italy (nationalist), with this alliance being the favorite to win over a fragmented left.
As Interior Minister in 2019, Salvini prevented several aid ships carrying migrants from disembarking in Italy.
“With me at (Palace) Viminale there were fewer deaths, fewer disembarks, fewer crimes and fewer problems. I hope that a man or woman from the League takes over the Ministry of the Interior”, said Salvini to reporters.
