ROME: Italy will speed up age checks on migrants and deport those who falsely claim to be under the age of eighteen, amid a standoff between the European Union (EU) and Tunisia over arrangements to stem the flow of migrants from North Africa to Europe.
So far, 11,650 unaccompanied children have arrived in Italy this year out of a total of 133,139 people — around double the number at the same stage in 2022. Under Italian law, migrants younger than eighteen cannot be repatriated.
Italy currently uses psychological evaluation of migrants to determine age under a 2017 law, but it is now likely that X-rays of wrist bones will be used more frequently instead after new laws were approved on Wednesday.
Campaigners warn that the wrist X-ray method to verify the age is unreliable.
The new decree will also see children older than sixteen placed in adult migrant holding centers, which has raised concerns across the country as 21,000 unaccompanied minors, many of them from Egypt, have disappeared from such facilities.
Italy bears brunt of increased flow of migrants
The moves come as the country continues to bear the brunt of an increased flow of migrants from North Africa, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni facing intense pressure from within her own party and from her coalition ally Matteo Salvini.
This week Meloni visited the island of Lampedusa, which has witnessed a surge in migrant numbers in recent days, alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who said that the future of Europe depends on its ability to deal with epoch-making challenges of and the challenge of illegal immigration is no doubt one of them.
Officials in Brussels, meanwhile, are said to be displeased with Tunisia after the number of people leaving the country for Europe surged despite an agreement struck in July to reduce boat crossings in exchange for millions of euros in assistance.
