In bid to crackdown on migration, Giorgia Meloni's government is to introduce a new measure to resolve issues related to underage migrants. The cabinet's aim is to ensure that illegal migrants who falsely claim to be minors receive punishment.
As Magyar Nemzet highlighted in an earlier article, the arrival of a striking number of unaccompanied and undocumented minors has posed a serious problem in Italy, with 70 percent of the young migrants claiming to be aged between 16 and 17 during registration.
It is also remarkable that ninety percent of the minors are boys and only ten percent are girls.
Underage immigrants arriving unaccompanied by adults are entitled to different provision than adults. Providing for them is a significant financial burden for municipalities, costing almost one hundred euros per day, compared to 35 euros for an adult.
The difficulties are compounded by the fact that the facilities for minors are overcrowded and new ones need to be built.
Currently, Italian municipalities are forced to take care of 22 thousand underage migrants.
Due to a lack of accommodation capacities, Italy's government intends to resolve the situation by housing illegal migrants aged 16 to 18 in separated areas in adult facilities.
At the same time, young people who mislead authorities by lying about their age will face deportation.
If the number of young arrivals remains as high as it is today, authorities will use health experts to try to determine their real age to prevent abuse of benefits.
Illegal migrants heading to Europe arrive at the port of Lampedusa in south Italy on September 18, 2023 (Photo: MTI/EPA/ANSA/Ciro Fusco)
