Italian government adopts anti-migrant security decree

The Italian government on Monday adopted a security decree which will make it easier to expel migrants and strip them of Italian citizenship. The new bill is “a step forward to make Italy safer,” far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said on Facebook. It will help Italy “be stronger in the fight against the mafia and [people] smugglers, reduce the costs of excessive immigration, expel delinquents and fake refugees, strip terrorists of citizenship, [and] give the police greater powers,” Salvini said. Parliament has 60 days to debate, amend and vote on the bill before President Sergio Mattarella signs it into law. Salvini said the decree streamlines the rules for processing asylum requests and brings Italy into line with other EU countries, AFP reports.