LONDON– Britain’s Home Secretary James Cleverly is visiting Italy as part of the UK government’s efforts to crack down on migrants arriving in small boats.
Cleverly will meet his Italian counterpart, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, and discuss how Italy and Britain can expand their joint work to prevent migrants in North Africa from making often dangerous journeys across the Mediterranean Sea. , officials said Tuesday.
Cleverly will also visit Lampedusa, Italy’s southernmost island that receives most of the immigrants arriving in the country. In September, about 7,000 people arrived from Tunisia to the small island in a span of about 24 hours, overwhelming the local migrant reception center.
The visit comes as British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stepped up his calls for the UK Parliament to approve his plan to deport some asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Sunak signed a deal with the East African nation two years ago and insisted his deportation plan is a key deterrent that will help “stop the boats,” small unseaworthy vessels carrying migrants through the Channel. the stain. But the proposal has been repeatedly blocked by the courts. rulings and human rights activists who say it is illegal and inhumane.
British officials say both the UK and Italy are “global leaders in forging bold and novel solutions to illegal migration.”
“Our countries have shown that we are willing to challenge the status quo and use innovative solutions to address problems, while fiercely pursuing human trafficking gangs,” Cleverly said in a statement.
His office referred to a five-year deal recently agreed between Italy and Albania under which Albania, which is not part of the European Union, will house up to 3,000 migrants in two centers for Italy while their asylum applications are processed.
Like Sunak’s plan for Rwanda, that deal was also widely criticized by human rights groups.