As the coronavirus outbreak spreads across Europe and countries consider measures to stop the spread of the virus, former Italian interior minister Marco Minniti advocates opening the border to the influx of migrants from Africa.
Minniti, who is currently an MP for the left-wing Democratic Party, one of the government coalition parties, urged the party to proceed with getting rid of the migration decrees approved at the time when Matteo Salvini was the interior minister.
In 2018, Salvini succeeded in discarding the humanitarian protection residency permit through migration and security decrees enacted by the former government.
The previous permit allowed those who did not qualify for asylum to stay in the country for humanitarian reasons. However, Minniti wants Salvini’s decrees, which permitted migrants to enter the country, to be done away with.
Currently, the number of people infected with the coronavirus in northern Italy exceeded 200 cases. Therefore, the plan on allowing more refugees to come to the country, with the possibility of legally staying there, sparked rage among many, including Salvini.