Italian authorities have been asked by the Netherlands to keep the NGO migrant rescue ship Sea Watch 3 in the port of Catania. The decision followed an inspection by Dutch authorities earlier this week.
For two years, Sissoko, a 31-year-old Malian, has been trying to recover from his crossing of the Mediterranean. Of around 130 people who boarded the ship, 62 died, including all the children on board.
Italy's hardline migrant policy has fueled a debate in the country over how to address new arrivals. In an effort to foster cohesion and understanding, one artist is covering her local village in golden blankets.
A project called "Work at the Bar" in Italy's capital Rome, starting in late February, trains young migrants to work as baristas and waiters. The goal of the initiative is to give foreign minors and young adults the chance to achieve social and work independence.
Municipalities in Italy's Bologna area have signed an agreement that sets up a registry list for asylum seekers. The goal of the 'rescue-migrants' pact is to bypass rules established by the Salvini migrant and security decree.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte called, in his keynote speech in Strasbourg to the European Parliament, for a Europe for the people and by the people. He accused the bloc of having lost touch with what the people want and asked for more unity to address the many challenges the continent faces, including migration.
Palermo Mayor Leoluca Orlando said the Sicilian capital is no longer the capital of the mafia and it now seeks to be known as the capital for migrant rights and welcoming. In recent weeks, Orlando has led a revolt of Italian mayors against the Salvini security decree.
Members of the center-right in the region of Umbria are angry that the regional government has decided to allocate approximately 1,000 euros for every migrant excluded from the Salvini security decree.
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini announced a new closure of a migrant center in Italy, this time in the province of Sondrio, where a hotel had been turned into a center for hosting foreigners.
The mayors of some Italian and Spanish cities are challenging the politics of national sovereignty and blocked ports, by signing an alliance in support of NGOs working in migrant rescue in the Mediterranean. Just three months ahead of European elections, the signatories said the pact aims to "save Europe from itself.”
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has expressed concern over the Italian law on immigration and security because contained within the decree is a concept which labels even children as a potential ‘social danger.’
A migrant boat off the Libyan coast was in distress with 150 people on board, activists said on Monday. They were eventually intercepted by a merchant ship and returned to Libya. The aid organization Alarm Phone has deemed the return as "commercial refoulement."