Underage migrants from Muslim-majortity Albania and Kosovo often end up in leftist-controlled areas due to higher benefits, according to a report.
The report, which comes from the Italian Ministry of Labour, states that most Albanian migrants, who form the largest group of underage migrants who came into Italy between 2018 and 2019, end up in the leftist regions of Emilia Romagna or Tuscany, Il Giornale reports.
A source in the Municipality of Florence told the Italian paper: “This suggests the existence of a racket organised and governed by someone who takes them mainly to these cities.”
“The problem derives from many years of the leftist government. I work for a left-wing administration and I see the limits of goodwill that creates opportunities for those who want to take advantage of it,” the source added.
Florence hosts around 270 underage migrants, 80 per cent of which came illegally from either Albania or Kosovo.
“The municipal government finds them there and delivers them to social services like a parcel,” the source said and added: “They do not check whether they are really unaccompanied or, as often happens, if they have relatives in Italy.”
The total cost of unaccompanied foreign minors in Florence alone is around five million euros.
Leftist-run areas in Italy have been known to favour migrants in the past for social services, including social housing.
In Sesto San Giovanni, the leftist government had allocated 29 of 36 available apartments to non-EU nationals in 2017. The policy was later reversed earlier this year following the election of right-wing mayor Roberto Di Stefano.
Mass migration saw a decline over the past year thanks to the policies of League (Lega) leader and former interior minister Matteo Salvini, who closed Italy’s ports to migrant transport NGOs — but now many fear the new Five Star-Democratic Party (PD) coalition could undo his policies and reopen the country to mass migration once more.
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