Lega Politician: Italy's Gov't to Focus on Ousting Islamists, Curbing Terrorism

"We have to deal with the problems that our previous government created in the past few years, allowing hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants from Africa to enter and settle in the country… Why has Italy not been a target for any terror attacks during these years? Italy was the best country for terrorist logistics. Foreigners without documents had no problems to cross into the country and set up a base or a hub for the coordination of a terrorist network across Europe," Claudio D’Amico said.

Claudio D’Amico, a member of Italy’s League (Lega) party, who is in charge of security issues in the city government of Sesto San Giovanni, noted that the new government's stricter policies might result in a situation where terror suspects would "lose their privileges and hideouts" and start planning terrorist attacks against Italians. Many migrants coming to the country are sympathetic to the Daesh* terrorist group or linked with it, he stated.

"We expelled 220 illegal migrants during the last seven months. About half of those people were wanted by the police and we brought them to jail. Many of them had stayed in the country illegally and were wanted by the migration authorities," he said.

According to D’Amico, the city of Sesto San Giovanni is a model for the nation when it comes to insisting on the rule of law. This refers to response measures curbing migrant-related violence and crime. According to the politician, the city is the leading municipality in Italy when it comes to expulsions. The politician underlined that Italians were no longer willing to spend money on supporting migrants, especially when some of them were found to be linked with terrorist organizations.

The spread of Islam is another big problem in Italy, according to D’Amico. The city government of Sesto San Giovanni has done its part to stop this trend within the city limits, he stressed, adding that the local authorities forced an end to plans for the construction of a mosque in the city that could have been the largest in the region.

READ MORE: Italy's Lega Party Leader: Do You Really Fear Russia Will Conquer You?

According to data by the UN migration agency, 171,635 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea routes in 2017, of which 119,310 individuals arrived in Italy.

March general elections in Italy resulted in a hung parliament. Even though two Eurosceptic parties received the majority of votes, no party or coalition on its own won an absolute majority to form a government required by a complicated electoral law passed last year. Italian President Sergio Mattarella will hold consultations on the formation of the new government with the leading political parties on April 4-5.

*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist group banned in Russia