Italy sets target of 10,000 migrant repatriations by 2026

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi told a gala in Manduria that Italy will aim to exceed the symbolic threshold of 10,000 irregular migrant expulsions by 2026, a level the country has never reached. He said the government will work on the goal thanks to recent EU migration reforms that legalise third‑country hubs and a new list of "safe" states – Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Kosovo, Morocco and Tunisia – covering a large share of recent arrivals (30 % Bangladeshi, another 11 % from Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco as of 31 May 2026). Piantedosi warned that some of the expulsions may be challenged before the European Court of Justice, citing past rulings on Albania. The announcement recalled that the principle of removing irregular migrants is not new: the 1998 Turco‑Napolitano law, adopted by a centre‑left government, already introduced expulsions, border accompaniment and temporary detention centres (CPT), later incorporated into the current immigration code and amended by the 2002 Bossi‑Fini reform. The minister highlighted the continuity of the legal framework while stressing the political complexity of the issue.