The coronavirus pandemic has brought a once reliable form of help to a halt: Remittances — that's money sent by people working abroad to their families back home. Many Africans working in Spain who were once able to support relatives in their home countries are now no longer able to do so. Although the strict lockdown measures are slowly being eased, many migrants lost their jobs.
The number of migrants seeking to enter the EU tripled in May compared to the previous month. It's a sign traffic along Europe's migration routes is picking up again after a lull brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why do people continue to migrate in an undocumented way via Pakistan and South Asia? This is one of several questions we asked well-known Pakistani human right lawyer Zia Awan when we interviewed him. He says corruption plays a significant role in undocumented migration.
The CGIL labor union in Monza on May 26 launched a call center for workers and employees on the regularization of foreigners promoted by the Italian government. Over 200 phone consultations were carried out in less than two days, the labor union said.
To fill the gap of trained seasonal foreign workers to harvest its crops, Italy has opened corridors for non-EU farmworkers who have had a work contract with Italian firms for years. Carrying over 100 farmworkers from Morocco, the first charter flight arrived in Italy on Thursday.
The amnesty to regularize undocumented workers came as part of a detailed "relaunch decree" from the Italian government totaling €55 billion. Here we break down who might be eligible and how you can apply.
Illegal immigrants fear nothing more than deportation. Now the COVID-19 pandemic adds to those fears, as they are forced to register to get medical care.
"Tens of thousands" of undocumented workers, migrants among them, could be falling through the cracks in Portugal. Unable to access social help, because of their lack of a legal work contract, these people are falling deeper into poverty as the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are felt.
The president of the southern province of Caserta, Giorgio Magliocca, has asked the Italian government to identify undocumented migrants in the area, in order to assist them amid the coronavirus emergency.
While the Italian government evaluates possible legalization of migrants working in Italy, the organization ActionAid is calling for "structural legalization" and "recognition of foreign citizens as people with rights, regardless of their economic utility" in Italy.
The Italian interior minister expressed openness to legalizing migrant workers in the country, pointing out however that it would not involve "600,000 people" indicated in estimates but rather "those who are needed and with rules".
The Castel Volturno Solidale network has launched a call to help support the Italian and migrant population in the Castel Volturno area, which has been made even more economically precarious due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A fundraising campaign has been started through a Caritas bank account.