Italy's new interior minister draws outrage over remarks on irregular migrants

ROME

Italy's new interior minister has drawn outrage from many segments of the country over his recent remarks about irregular migrants.

During a meeting in Milano on Monday, Matteo Piantedosi defined migrants who are denied permission to disembark from humanitarian ships as “residual cargo” who do not need to be rescued.

Piantedosi’s statement came after widespread criticism over Italy’s decision to permit only the most vulnerable migrants to disembark from charity rescue ships.

Nearly 500 migrants disembarked in the Sicilian port of Catania over the weekend after being rescued by two vessels owned by non-governmental organizations. They had been traveling in jam-packed boats attempting to cross from North Africa to Europe.

But nearly 250 migrants from the two ships were declined permission to disembark under orders of the new Italian government.

Piantedosi called on the two NGO ships to leave the Italian port.

Enrico Letta, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, decried the remarks by Piantedosi, saying they are "unacceptable.”

Bishop Francesco Savino, vice president of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI), one of the most authoritative institutions of the Catholic Church in Italy, said: "I get worried when I hear certain words. I take responsibility for what I say. I get scared and my conscience is disturbed when I hear the phrase 'selective acceptance'. I worry when I hear that some of these migrants are 'residual cargo'."

Many social media users also slammed Piantedosi's remarks, describing them as "inhumane."

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Monday again urged European governments to promptly offer a place of safety to people who remain on NGO vessels in the Mediterranean Sea.

In a joint statement, the agencies said their call is to allow the immediate disembarkation of hundreds of people who remain on NGO vessels after being rescued in Maltese and Libyan search and rescue zones in the Central Mediterranean.

At least 1,337 people have gone missing on the Central Mediterranean migration route this year, according to IOM’s Missing Migrants Project.

Most of the 88,000 people who have arrived by sea in Italy in 2022 were rescued by the Italian Coast Guard and other Italian state-led rescue ships or came autonomously, while 15% were rescued by NGO vessels.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz