Local authorities in the province of the central Italian city of Reggio Emilia have forged a deal to host unaccompanied foreign minors across all municipalities of the area. The agreement was signed by the prefecture, the city of Reggio Emilia and by the seven Unions of municipalities of the provincial territory.

"This is a unique agreement, which provides for the distribution across all municipalities of unaccompanied foreign minors who need hosting and sets the rules of assignment under which social services of the Unions take care of them, based on the residing population," explained the coordination of 42 mayors of the province of Reggio Emilia.

Agreement necessary due to increase in landings

The pact, they said, was necessary due to the increase in the number of arrivals, which has doubled compared to the same period in 2022.

"In this way, we are establishing how unaccompanied foreign minors are assigned and taken care of after they are sent by the ministry or spontaneously go to a police precinct," the mayors said.

They explained that this system provides continuity to a model of hosting that redistributes migrants across a wider area which "over the past few years has worked, contrary to many other Italian territories," said the coordination of mayors of the Reggio province.

Such a model allows to "help those who reach a territory, to host those who are really in trouble, to create paths of true inclusion" in the labor market and in society, while at the same time allowing to "monitor security across the entire provincial area," they said.

Local administrators question government on issue

Meanwhile the local mayors are demanding answers from the government. They said they have many "questions, starting with how long minors will be staying" to more detailed ones like "which models of inclusion" it is proposing for minors and how to deal with the overall inadequacy of the hosting system.

The mayors said they need "immediate answers" to such questions so they can continue to provide "utmost efficiency and security on the territory while ensuring permanent and high-quality hosting for minors to prevent them from coming into contact with criminal networks, from becoming ghosts who are marginalized by our society or labor exploitation."

The mayors concluded saying that they need the "certainty of the presence of resources to manage the emergency within the State's budget, as provided for by legislation that establishes that municipalities pay in advance for expenses and are then reimbursed by the government."