Allies of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi demanded that opposition factions in parliament pass the law on illegal immigrants under threat of government resignation. In the end, 316 deputies voted for the law, with 258 against. Now the law must be approved by the Senate.
The new law provides for criminal liability for illegal residence in Italy. Offenders will be punished with a fine - each illegal immigrant caught will have to pay between 5,000 and 10,000 euros.
Italy is the fourth country in the world, after the United States, Canada and France, in terms of the number of illegal immigrants. In 2008 alone, more than 36,000 illegal immigrants from Africa arrived on the territory of the Iberian Peninsula. In 2008, almost 32,000 people requested asylum in the country. As Lenta.ru notes, many illegal immigrants choose Italy as the starting point for a route to other European countries.