Between 2005 and 2012 Italy spent more than one billion six hundred thousand euros on policies aimed at combating illegal immigration: a considerable public expenditure that proved largely ineffective and violated the fundamental rights of migrants.
The Report “An inhuman cost: public spending to combat illegal immigration”, edited by Lunaria, offers a detailed analysis of the costs involved in ‘rejection policies’ and outlines the reasons why a change of route should be deemed an urgent priority.
Structure of the report
The Report produced by Lunaria provides a review of the cost of policies aimed at combating illegal immigration in Italy. It is the first part of a study involving a detailed, carefully researched comparison between the public resources invested in this area and those allocated to hosting and social inclusion for third party nationals (these will then be the object of a second report to be published soon).
The aim is to provide enough elements to rewrite the debate on migration policies.
The Report is divided into four chapters and is based on an analysis of official documentation (laws, regulations, guidelines, directives, reports) issued by Italian, EU and international institutions, and of texts and reports published by research centres and civil society organisations at a national and European level.
In the first chapter, we provide evidence which can help to assess the effectiveness of the system in place in Italy for combating illegal immigration; the second chapter examines public spending on sea and land border control; the third looks at resources allocated to therunning of Identification and Expulsion Centres (CIEs), while the fourth studies cooperation policies with tertiary countries to prevent illegal immigration. These are the four main areas covered by legislation on illegal immigration in Italy, an approach which is largely influenced by the European Union (EU) agenda.
On the basis of the points examined in the course of these four chapters, the conclusion attempts to make some closing considerations and provides specific policy recommendations.
Download the English Summary Report from the website of Lunaria
