by Eric J. Lyman
ROME, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Less than a week into the mandate of Italy's newest government, officials are already raising eyebrows for the hardline stance they are taking against refugees.
The anti-migrant stance is not a surprise. Matteo Salvini, the leader of the nationalist League -- one of the two parties supporting the government and the country's new minister of the interior -- promised as much during the campaign. But the language from the new government is so far stronger and more pointed than on other controversial planks of its government program.
"It is very worrying," Filippo Miraglia, vice-president of the Italian Cultural Recreation Association (ARCI) and the author of the book "Refugees: Conversations About Borders, Politics, and Rights," told Xinhua. "The government is striking quickly to essentially criminalize being a refugee."
In his first weekend in his new job, Salvini traveled to the Sicilian port city of Pozzallo, home of a major reception center for refugees.
He said that recent at-sea deaths of would-be refugees trying to reach Italy's shores should have been prevented by not allowing the boats they use to leave the shores of Africa. Salvini told reporters that Italy "cannot be Europe's refugee camp."
Salvini said if the European Union (EU) does not do more to help Italy confront the refugee problem, Italy would be forced to "choose other methods."
In another rally in northern Italy, Salvini said illegal migrants to Italy should "get ready to pack (their) bags."
Salvini has vowed to expel as many as 500,000 migrants from the country. More than 600,000 migrants are thought to have landed on Italian shores since 2014. Though the numbers have been falling since the start of last year, nearly 11,000 are thought to have arrived so far in 2018 and more than 100,000 arrived last year. Thousands have died at sea attempting to reach Italy.
The Five-Star Movement, the other party in the ruling coalition, has not been as vocal about the migrant issue. But Giuseppe Conte, the government's prime minister, addressed the two houses of parliament on back-to-back days and spoke about the issue both times.
On Wednesday, Conte told senators the new government could call for the Dublin Resolution to be reformed so that there would be more of a "fair distribution of responsibilities."
The Dublin Regulation requires would-be asylum seekers to be processed in the country of arrival, placing much of the processing burden on southern European countries with long coastlines, like Italy and Greece.
On Thursday, speaking in the lower house, Conte criticized the EU for "leaving Italy alone" to deal with the migrant issue. He said asylum seekers should be distributed around Europe.
Analysts said Italy had "inexpensive and effective" methods for reducing migrant arrivals, such as reducing the amount its budgets for housing, feeding, and processing new arrivals.
"The idea is that it would make Italy a less attractive landing point for migrants and so they might go home or set out for some other destination," Maurizio Ambrosini, a sociologist with the State University of Milan and a frequent commentator on migrant issues, told Xinhua.
"But Article 10 of the Italian Constitution says the country has an obligation to help asylum seekers. People don't discuss it as much today, but this is one of our country's founding principles."