Forty men of various nationalities arrive at an Italian naval vessel in the port of northern Shenzin, Albania.
Italy sent 40 asylum seekers to Albania awaiting deportation. There, they will be kept in Italian detention centres until they are repatriated to their home countries.
The rest of the European Union was closely monitored and was opened in October last year.
However, in an attempt to save the costly programs plagued by legal challenges, the Italian government decided in late March to act as a repatriation facility to retain immigrants as they are primarily sent back to their home countries.
Italian media said on Friday, 40 men of various nationalities arrived on an Italian navy ship in the port of northern Shenzin.
From there they are moved to a centre near Gjader, a former military base surrounded by high fences under camera surveillance.
It is not clear how long they will remain in Albania. Italian law allows asylum seekers whose residence claims are not successful can be held for up to 18 months while awaiting deportation.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni signed a contract with Albanian counterpart Eddie Lama to open the Italian Operations Center in Albania in November 2023.
However, the Albanian deportation system was put on hold after Italian courts repeatedly voided the relocation of sea immigrants.
Faced with criticism from the opposition over legal turmoil, Meloni’s conservative coalition last month decided to use Albania instead as a staging post for those whose asylum bids have already been turned down. Stopping the boat was also a promise of Meloni and her far-right brother Italian party when she first came in the 2022 election.
Italy has poor records of irregular migrant deportation. In 2023, just over 4,000 people were forced to go home, with about a third of the numbers returned by France and Germany showing official data.
Many more ignored the order of exile, either staying in Italy or heading to another European country.
Meloni originally wanted the two Albanian camps to handle roughly 36,000 male asylum seekers a year from the government list of safe countries.
The government still wants to return to its original plan, awaiting a ruling from a European Union court that could force an Italian judge to deal with new asylum seekers sent to Albania.
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