Italian migrant rights group ASGI has criticized the eviction of asylum seekers from CAS centers in Bologna, calling on the local prefect to revoke the measure. The decision concerns asylum seekers whose claims have been rejected, but who are appealing the decision.
The Association for Juridical Studies on Immigration (ASGI) said on Tuesday (August 1) that "on July 29, 2023, the prefect of Bologna issued an order to immediately revoke housing for an unspecified number (between 100 and 269) asylum seekers hosted by the CAS (extraordinary reception centers) of the metropolitan area of Bologna, who have a pending appeal for the recognition of international protection."
ASGI believes that the measure is "manifestly illegitimate (because it violates) principles sanctioned by the Constitutional Court, because it is permanent and the criteria used to select the asylum seekers to be immediately expelled from the hosting system are totally discriminatory."
The prefect, ASGI noted, has reported that CAS centres in Bologna are currently hosting 269 people who have appealed against the rejection of their application for international protection. This reportedly includes 100 people who "are not in a situation of vulnerability" and who have been "in the hosting system for at least three years" and who can therefore "feel free" to leave their hosting facility "within four days".
More migrants and refugees about to arrive in Bologna
ASGI said the prefect had issued the order based on the fact that another 511 asylum seekers were about to arrive in Bologna (including 55 municipalities) as part of the "national relocation plan".
ASGI said that the prefect should not ignore the fact that "hundreds of people suddenly evicted from CAS (centers) will be forced to live on the streets, with the additional risk that they could lose any potential job they have, damaging their fundamental rights and determining problems of public order."
The Association of Juridical Studies on Immigration argued that, according to the European Court of Human Rights, "leaving a vulnerable person on the street without any material support constitutes inhuman and degrading treatment which is banned by article 3 of the convention". They called on the prefect to immediately revoke the issued order.
The association also urged the municipal administration of Bologna to "take care of the situation by indicating solutions to host the asylum seekers arriving in the metropolitan area of Bologna, which includes 55 municipalities, thus avoiding the expulsion of the asylum seekers already living in CAS" centers.