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16-06-2026
ROME: Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of the Italian capital for rival demonstrations over migration policy, as a far-right proposal seeking hardline migration measures is set to advance to discussion in parliament.
An anti-migration march in Rom’s Prati neighborhood on Saturday drew several thousand participants, while a competing pro-migration event in a separate part of the city attracted tens of thousands.
Thousands of police were also deployed to ensure the two rival groups would remain apart.
The demonstrations come after a petition advocating for sweeping measures targeting foreigners including coercive returns to their countries of origin gathered the 50,000 signatures needed to trigger parliamentary discussion.
Named “Remigration and Reconquest,” the petition has pushed the once-fringe concept of “remigration” which in far-right contexts can mean the mass deportation of ethnic minorities into the political mainstream.
“We want to kick the illegal immigrants out, force them out, because they shouldn’t be here,” Luca Marsella, spokesman for the neofascist group Casapound, said at the anti-migrant rally Saturday “and since we’re not politically correct, we’ll say we want to send the legal immigrants home, too, the ones who clearly haven’t assimilated or integrated.”
On several occasions during the anti-migrant march, many participants raised their arms in a fascist salute, shouting “Duce! Duce!” in reference to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, media reported.
The debate on migration represents a delicate balancing act for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition.
While the anti-migration League party that is in her coalition backs opening discussion on the petition, Meloni’s Brothers of Italy and centrist allies have been more cautious about endorsing a proposal linked to extremist circles.
Critics, including opposition parties and legal experts, argue the proposal would violate constitutional and international anti-discrimination principles by targeting people based on ethnic background, including naturalized citizens and their descendants. “The so-called remigration bill invokes a logic of exclusion based on ethnic and cultural background that is incompatible with the Italian constitution and the fundamental principles of the rule of law,” said left-wing politician Angelo Bonelli, according to Italy’s la Repubblica newspaper.
The controversy comes even as Meloni’s government pursues a parallel policy of expanding legal migration, having approved a multiyear plan to admit hundreds of thousands of non-EU workers to address labor shortages in key economic sectors.
In February, Italy’s government has signed off on a new bill to curb undocumented immigration, including using the navy to block incoming migrant ships in “exceptional” cases.
The cabinet of Italy’s conservative Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni greenlighted the migration bill on Wednesday. It also calls for stricter border surveillance and expands the list of convictions for which a foreigner can be expelled.
Before going into effect, the bill must be approved by both chambers of parliament.
One of the most controversial elements allows authorities to impose a 30-day naval blockade on sea arrivals if there is a “serious threat to public order or national security”. Such a threat could include “exceptional migratory pressure that could compromise the secure management of borders”, says the bill. It also cites the “concrete risk” of terrorist acts or infiltration in Italy, global health emergencies and high-level international events. (Int’l News Desk)
