Italy mulls new migrant crackdown as talk turns to naval blockade to prevent launching of boats

By NICOLE WINFIELD, LORNE COOK and ANGELA CHARLTON
Associated Press

ROME (AP) — The Italian Cabinet is meeting to adopt new measures to crack down on migration. That comes after the southern island of Lampedusa was again overwhelmed last week by a wave of arrivals from Tunisia, and the migration issue returned to center stage in Europe with talk of a naval blockade. Premier Giorgia Meloni says the Cabinet measures will focus on migrants who don’t qualify for asylum and are slated to be repatriated to their home countries. The plan is to extend the amount of time such people can be detained to the EU maximum of 18 months. The plan also aims to increase the number of detention centers to hold them until they are sent back, since the capacity in Italy has always been insufficient.