ROME (AP) – European rescue boats were bringing hundreds of migrants saved at sea to Italian ports Sunday, prompting the country’s center-right politicians to vow that their regions won’t shelter any more of them.
Arriving were many of the nearly 3,500 migrants rescued a day earlier in the Mediterranean Sea from unseaworthy boats launched by Libya-based smugglers.
Newly-elected Liguria Gov. Giovanni Toti was among the north-based Italian politicians refusing to accept more migrants while asylum requests are evaluated. Toti’s candidacy was backed by his mentor, former center-right Premier Silvio Berlusconi, and by the anti-immigrant Northern League party, which was bolstered by results in the regional balloting a week ago.
A longtime League leader, and Lombardy governor, Roberto Maroni, asked followers on Twitter if they agreed with him that “Lombardy mayors must refuse to welcome clandestine migrants” sent by the national government or else face regional funding cuts as punishment.
Mayors of cities and towns in the south have warned for months they’ve run out of room for migrants who disembark in Sicily and other southern ports after rescues by Italian and other European military vessels, as well as cargo ships and boats run by humanitarian organizations.