Italian authorities have transferred 40 rejected asylum seekers to a migrant reception center in Gjadër, Albania, following a new government decree that reclassifies sea rescue reception centers as detention ones.
Under heavy guard, the migrants were first taken to the Italian reception center in the Albanian city of Shëngjin, ahead of their transfer to the detention center in Gjadër—marking the first time migrants have been relocated to a non-EU country that was not part of their migration route.
The migrants will remain at the Gjadër center until their deportation. Italian law, which applies to the detention center established by Italy in Albania, permits the detention of migrants for up to 18 months. According to the European Commission, this aligns with its proposed plan to allow EU member states to establish migrant return centers outside EU borders.
The right-wing government led by Giorgia Meloni established two migrant reception centers in Albania to curb irregular migration by receiving migrants rescued from the Mediterranean and accelerating the processing of their asylum claims and deportations. However, the centers were used for only a few days, as Italian courts blocked the transfers, ruling they violated European law.
According to the Italian news agency, the deported migrants came from Egypt, Tunisia, Bangladesh, Algeria, Pakistan, Moldova, Georgia and Nigeria. The Italian Interior Ministry collected them from a number of detention centers in Bari, Torino, Trapani, Gorizia, Milan and Brindisi and handcuffed them to prevent them from harming themselves during the transportation journey to Albania.
According to the German news agency, migration experts believe that the transfer is likely to be legally challenged in court. Megan Benton from the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) stated that other EU countries are also seeking to implement similar arrangements with non-EU countries, such as Uganda.
Migration expert Francesco Ferri of ActionAid believes the next steps following the transfer remain unclear, as neither Italian nor European law—nor the agreement between Italy and Albania—permits the direct deportation of rejected asylum seekers from Albania. Ferri emphasized that Italy has failed to clarify the purpose of the transfer, calling this lack of transparency unacceptable.
According to the Italian Interior Ministry, 11,438 migrants have arrived in Italy via its coastline since the beginning of this year—a 31% decrease compared to the same period last year. Most of the migrants came from Egypt, Bangladesh, Syria, and Tunisia.
