Italy has sent 38 illegal immigrants back to Egypt, part of the government’s tough measures on illegal immigration.
The Interior Ministry said the Egyptians were put on a Cairo-bound flight departing from northeastern Italy before dawn Saturday.
Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s government has vowed to step up the fight against illegal immigrants, who many Italians link to street crime. It has passed measures that make it easier for authorities to expel foreigners, among other things, and has proposed making illegal immigration a crime.
Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said in a statement that he was satisfied with the repatriation of the 38 Egyptians. He said expulsions were now quicker and more effective.