‘Migrant Taxi’ NGO Ships Drop Off Over 500 People in Italy

CATANIA, ITALY - NOVEMBER 08: The vessel Humanity 1 is seen at the port in Catania, Italy
Valeria Ferraro/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Chris Tomlinson

Two migrant taxi NGO ships dropped off over 500 people in Italy over the weekend, despite promises from the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to halt their activity.

The two ships landed in Italy on Sunday, with the Geo Barents operated by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) dropping off 248 migrants in the port of Salerno, while SOS Humanity’s Humanity 1 dropped off 261 migrants in the port of Bari.

The Humanity 1 had received port access from Italian authorities as early as last Friday but took until Sunday to reach the port due to bad weather, which saw the ship navigate waves of around ten feet, the European Union-funded website InfoMigrants reports.

According to the website, the Italian government allowed the ships to dock in Italy due to the bad weather, while still maintaining a firm stance against migrant taxi NGO activity.

Since the formation of the conservative coalition government by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, illegal migrant arrivals have continued, rather than abated.

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Pinatedosi has made it clear he wishes to stop migrant taxi NGO activity entirely and possibly ban NGOs, stating in October the NGO activities are “not in line with the spirit of European and Italian rules on security and border control and the fight against illegal immigration.”

“We cannot accept the principle that a state does not control the flows of those who enter,” he said and added, “slowing down departures also means limiting deaths at sea, which are repugnant to me and which I see are almost no longer news.”

Piantedosi has been rumoured to be preparing a new security decree aimed at tackling NGO activity that could allow Italian authorities to confiscate the NGO ships and open NGOs to other administrative actions.

While the Meloni government managed to redirect a single NGO ship to France last month, causing major tensions with the French government, illegal arrivals have continued, with over 8,800 migrants reaching Italy by boat in November and over 3,600 so far this month.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.

 

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