Salvini announces census of Sinti and Roma
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini wants to count the Sinti and Roma living in Italy. The Deputy Prime Minister and Lega chief announced a letter to the Prefects to get a picture of the number of illegal settlement residents to be closed. The goal is the "return to legality," said Salvini on Friday.
Around 180,000 Roma and Sinti live in Italy, 26,000 of them in shanty towns. Shortly after taking office last year, the right-wing populist Italian Interior Minister had already called for criticism of the demand for a census of the Roma minority.
The head of the xenophobic Lega had also spoken out for the expulsion of foreigners without valid residence status. Roma of Italian nationality must "keep the country", he added.
Salvini has announced that he will close all illegal Roma settlements by the end of the five-year legislative period. In July 2018, a camp was evacuated in Rome with several hundred members of the Roma minority. 8000 Roma live in the capital Rome. For years, the city has been committed to reducing the shanty towns and to offer the Roma families other housing options
