There is need of making some corrections to the Bossi-Fini immigration law, Speaker of Italy’s Chamber of Deputies Gianfranco Fini has said.
He said that while the law continues to be generally valid, “based on experiences and some questions which have emerged regarding its application, some corrections are necessary.” Mr. Fini made the remarks during the launching of a book by MP Nicola Cristalli in Mazara del Vallo.
He said it is absurd to ask an immigrant who already has a job to go back to his home country in order to apply for work visa before returning to Italy.
Mr. Fini was apparently referring to foreigners already working illegally or without work permit, who normally use the Quota Agreement (Decreto flussi) to regularise their stay in the country.
While the Quota Agreement is meant for foreign workers who are still abroad, normally it is used by illegal immigrants already working in the country to legalise their stay. After obtaining the nulla osta (authorisation to work), the law requires such immigrants to travel back home to apply for work visa before returning to Italy.
Mr. Fini said Mazara del Vallo is a model city of integration of immigrants. “This is a city with a high percentage of immigrants whose integration has taken place without discrimination and xenophobia, and without social tensions.”
Mazara is a model based on reciprocal respect between the local population and immigrants, Mr. Fini said. “When there is respect, there is integration. The challenge we are facing in Rome is a challenge you’ve already overcome,” he said.
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