Immigration Law Ammended
01 August 2002
The Bossi-Fini law amending the Italian immigration law (see Statewatch vol 11 no 6) underwent limited changes as it passed through the Senate and Parliament, and these changes are intended to toughen the restrictive effects on immigrants of a law whose original draft was widely condemned as racist. Its provisions aim to seal Italy's borders, including the use of navy ships or customs patrols to stop ships carrying "illegal" immigrants from reaching Italy even outside its territorial waters. It introduces stricter sanctions for "assisting illegal entry" (3 years in prison and a 15,000 Euro fine per person) and doing so "for profit" (4 to 12 years in prison and a 15,000 Euro fine per person), limits the number of foreigners allowed into Italy to people hand-picked in their countries of origin, extends the duration of legal detention in detention centres (see Statewatch vol 10 no 1) from 30 to 60 days and makes expulsion orders immediately enforceable.
The main changes to the draft involve the fingerprinting of all third-country nationals who apply for residence permits or for their permit to be renewed, and the introduction of possible retaliatory sanctions, such as the review of aid and cooperation programmes, if governments in third countries fail to take adequate measures to prevent the illegal return of their citizens to Italy after their expulsion. This measure was aired by the Italian, Spanish and UK prime ministers before the EU summit in Seville in June 2002, although it was withdrawn after facing criticism, and replaced by a formula whereby third countries that cooperate would be rewarded.
Other developments include a halving of sentences for persons who cooperate with police or judicial authorities to provide "crucial evidence for the reconstruction of events, for the identification or capture of one or more authors of crimes and for the withdrawal of significant resources to the undertaking of crimes". Qualified nurses working in the public or private health sector have been added to a special category of kinds of employment for which foreigners may follow specific, and by comparison advantageous, procedures for securing permission.
Legge Turco-Napolitano 40/98, Ddl Senato 795 - Modifica alla normativa in materia di immigrazione e di asilo, Ddl Camera 2454 - Modifica alla normativa in materia di immigrazione e di asilo.