Illegal migration from the Mediterranean to Italy has dropped in the first seven months of this year.
Italy’s interior ministry provides daily updates on migrant arrivals on its website. As of July 31, 2024, a total of 33,556 irregular migrants had reached the country via the Mediterranean Sea.
In 2023, over the same period, 89.165 people came to Italy illegally. In 2022, the numbers stood at 42,040.
That means total illegal crossings have dropped by more than 62 per cent on last year.
On the island of Lampedusa, the change in migrant arrivals is more pronounced. There, illegal arrivals fell by 77 per cent. In July last year, the small island saw 18,723 arrivals, compared to 4,231 this year.
“We were told that in the summer months, the arrivals of boats would increase, but thanks to the structural immigration policies put in place by the Meloni government, the curve, already declining since last October, has stabilised and continued downward,” Sara Kelany, head of Immigration with Meloni’s Brothers of Italy Party, told Il Giornale.
After years “in which the left devastated Italy’s migration policies in the name of a do-gooder immigrationism, today this government has finally hit the target, defending the borders, fighting against human traffickers and co-operating with the countries of origin and departure,” she added.
The number of unaccompanied foreign minors reaching Italy has also shown a decline. While the full year of 2023 saw 18,820 such arrivals, only 4,188 minors have been recorded in the first seven months of this year. If this trend was to continue, the annual total for 2024 would be around 7,000 unaccompanied minors.
The expected surge in crossings during the summer months of June to August this year has appeared to be milder than anticipated.
Typically, summer provides more favourable conditions for sea crossings, with fair weather benefiting people smugglers.
In June 2023, 15,164 people reached Italy, while the same month a year later saw just 4,902 arrivals. The trend continued in July, with just 7,465 illegal crossings in July 2024 compared to 23,404 recorded in 2023.
Most migrants reaching Italy come from Bangladesh (21 per cent), Syria (15 per cent) and Tunisia (13 per cent).
In an interview with Tempi magazine on August 1, Meloni referred to the Mattei Plan as the basis for the success. She called it “a very concrete plan that identifies some precise areas of intervention on which Italy can make its contribution”.
Italy will invest billions in Africa in the hope of tackling mass migration at its roots, among other things.
Meloni is seizing on a time of crisis to find opportunity. At a time when France – the European continental power most closely associated with Africa – is perceived to be waning, Italy is on the march, writes Joseph Hammond. https://t.co/9btkDeDF8R
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) September 28, 2023
