Senate President Piero Grasso said
Wednesday that it is time Italy creates a new immigration law to
better integrate newcomers, and generations born to immigrant
parents.
"It's time to think about a new path to citizenship for
foreigners who have been integrated here, and second
generations," born to immigrant parents, he said after the
release of a report on immigration from the International Centre
for Family Studies.
"Our rules on citizenship are among the most stringent in
Europe and are likely to excluded from rights (of citizenship)
thousands of people who with their honest work contribute to the
welfare and progress of our society," he added.
"I think young people born in our country, studying here,
speaking our language and our dialect, cheering or playing in
our football teams...I have always wondered bitterly why these
young people are fighting for justice and for the future of a
country of which they are not and will never be citizens".
Children of immigrants, even when born in Italy, are not
automatically granted citizenship under the current law.
Italy's former minister for integration Cecile Kyenge
pressed hard for changes to Italy's 2002 Bossi-Fini immigration
law, which was ratified under a previous center-right
administration in which the anti-immigrant Northern League was a
minority coalition partner.
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