Per la libertà di movimento, per i diritti di cittadinanza

Houses of detention – Bossi-Fini law has implemented their role

The number of migrants who are being detained in jails is everyday increasing, this is the consideration from which the discussion started. In big cities houses of detentions migrants detained are almost the 50% of the whole. This happens despite the attempt of expelling migrants who are sentenced guilty of a crime. This is not a surprise since Bossi-Fini law, that provides for the arrest of the ones who do not leave Italy when ordered, makes jail normal to the ones who are obliged to clandestinity by the same law.

Rimini Melting Pot editorial staff interviewed Prof. Emilio Santoro, University of Florence and in charge of the data centre “L’altro dititto” (the other right). Prof. Santoro also is the author of the research “Jail is not a detention cnetre” which can be found at our web page www.meltingpot.org as well.

Question: Your research shows that the number of migrants who are being detained in jails is everyday increasing. Why?

Answer: Bossi-Fini law increases the number of migrants detained in jails, since it provides for the enlargement of crimes because of which migrants are jailed. This law creates a precariousness which makes migrants easily become clandestines. Losing the job and not finding a new one within six month are just one example. Too often migrants commit crimes in order to have documents, they simply fake their names. There are a huge number of reasons that make migrants end up in jail.
Migrants cannot take use of alternatives to jail, since once sentenced they should be expelled and they no more hold papers.

Question: Could it be that despite Italian constitution and the Universal declaration of human rights jails are everyday becoming detention centres?

Answer: Bossi-Fini law has changed jails in the sense you are saying. Expulsion is considered an alternative to detention. While a person awaits for expulsion to come, he/she is not detatined in centres, as it should be but in jails.

Your research reports:

“Bossi-Fini law make normal life almost impossible after being jailed. Anyone who was detained because of crimes connected to criminal code art. 380 paragraph 1 and 2 and to drugs must be expelled. In case a migrant person stole only an apple this person ends up in jail if caught”

Question: We could say that a racist law such as Bossi-Fini law doesn’t help integration and at th esame time it doesn’t help migrants that come out from house of detention.

Answer: Migrants coming out of jails cannot possibly be integrated back in society, since Bossi-Fini law excludes it. Also former law, the Turcu-Napolitano, was the same. Bossi-Fini law aim is to have migrants work here not integrate them in our society.

Your research also reports:

“The perspective of being expelled is impedimental to the punishement itself, it in fact hold no more sense, punishements should re-educate people in order to re-integrate them in society. There’s a deep discrimination between Italian and migrant detainees. Anyone should oppose this trend”

Question: What do you think of this?

Answer: EU migration management is ruled in the Schengen treaty, which considers immigration a police problem. In Italy detention centres were built under EU pressures. Schengen is an intergovernative agreement, but it should become the EU migration set of rules. Migrants are to become a sort of non EU Eu citizens.