Group hits Italy's tough immigration rules that could affect Pinoys

MANILA, Philippines - The Council of Europe, the region’s top human rights watchdog, criticized Italy’s new immigration rules, which could affect thousands of Filipinos illegally staying in the country.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg, said that Italy’s new immigration measures “lack human rights and humanitarian principles and may spur further xenophobia."

The Associated Press (AP) reported last week that as a response to street crimes that were often being blamed by Italians on foreigners, the country’s parliament passed a bill that toughens rules on illegal immigration.

The report said the measure that was approved with a wide margin from the Senate included “increasing jail sentences by a third for offenders who are also illegal immigrants and expelling any foreigner who has been sentenced to more than two years in prison."

The report also said that the measure makes it a crime to rent an apartment to illegal immigrants.

Hammarberg criticized the decision to criminalize the entry and irregular stay of migrants.
“These measures may make it more difficult for refugees to ask for asylum and is likely to result in a further social stigmatisation and marginalisation of all migrants - including Roma," he said.

There were 128,080 Filipinos living in Italy in 2006, of which 20,000 are illegal residents or workers; 84,972 are legal temporary workers; and 23,108 are permanent residents, according to the UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women.

The UN body said that based on the 2005 data from Caritas di Rome, 61 percent of Filipinos living in Italy were women who mostly worked in the service sector. It said that in cities like Rome and Milan, 70 percent of Filipino migrants were female. - GMANews.TV

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