In the southern Italian city of Palermo, a project teams up 50 young migrants and refugees with local mentors. The goal: To help the youths successfully adjust to life in Italy and transition into adulthood.
With a foreign-born population of 3.4%, Catania is the city in Sicily with the highest number of immigrants. The figure has risen by 4.4% since last year.
An Italian court has ruled that simply piloting a boat is not sufficient cause to be convicted as a human trafficker. The ruling came in the case of seven defendants who were acquitted in a trial in which they were accused of favoring illegal immigration.
Authorities in Italy are concerned over so-called "phantom" migrant landings, which have become a daily occurrence on the coasts of Sicily, Sardinia, and Calabria.
Italian authorities on Monday seized the German rescue boat Eleonore. The rescue boat had been stranded at sea for a week with over 100 migrants aboard. Meanwhile, 31 migrants aboard the rescue ship Mare Jonio were also allowed to disembark on Lampedusa.
The Italian Interior Ministry said the European Commission is planning to distribute the 80 migrants rescued by NGO rescue vessel Open Arms. The migrants, currently on the islands of Sicily and Lampedusa, will be received by EU countries that have expressed willingness to take them in. Meanwhile, an Italian polician said the situation on Lampedusa is becoming increasingly unsustainable.
Last week, the Sicilian motorized fishing boat Accursio Giarratano put its fishing activities on hold to rescue a dinghy overloaded with migrants and in distress at sea. Gaspare Giarratano, the owner of the boat, said that he rescued the migrants as a way of paying homage to his dead son.
The Italian authorities have arrested four Italians and four Tunisians on charges of aiding and abetting clandestine immigration and cigarette smuggling. The group stands accused of organizing' ghost trips' between Tunisia and Sicily.
Italian authorities have arrested 10 suspects accused of forging and illegally providing fake residency permits to foreigners in Italy.
Opened in 2011, Cara di Mineo was once Europe’s biggest camp for migrants and asylum seekers. Located about an hour’s drive outside of Catania, it was infamous for violence, deaths and scandals. Interior Minister Matteo Salvini arrived in Sicily on July 9 to ‘turn off the lights’ of the camp, fulfilling another of his personal promises.
Humanitarian organization Intersos has said that the implementation of the Salvini Decree has created an "emergency" because thousands of youths over the age of 18 can now no longer stay in reception centers. The situation in Sicily is reportedly particularly bad.
One of the migrants saved by the Mare Jonio rescue ship had previously crossed the Strait of Sicily and was sent back to Libya five times. The man's body has marks of torture on it, allegedly suffered in Libyan detention centers. Many of those onboard the ship tell similar stories of violence and torture.