Italy has transferred 40 asylum seekers to Albania under a politically contentious agreement that allows for the detention of migrants in Italian-operated centers outside Italian borders. The individuals, who are of various nationalities and have already been denied asylum in Italy, were sent by sea to the northern Albanian port of Shengjin aboard an Italian navy vessel.
Upon arrival on Friday, the men were escorted to a repurposed former military base in the nearby town of Gjader. This facility, heavily secured with fencing and 24-hour video surveillance, is one of two centers Italy has established in Albania to house migrants awaiting repatriation.
Initially launched in October 2023 as part of a pilot initiative for processing sea-rescued asylum seekers outside Italy, the Albanian centers were intended to handle up to 36,000 male applicants per year, particularly from countries deemed “safe” by the Italian government. The original plan aimed to swiftly assess asylum claims and repatriate those who were rejected.
However, after a series of legal challenges in Italian courts overturned the transfer of new arrivals to Albania, the government was forced to revise the program. In March 2024, the administration of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni restructured the initiative: the Albanian facilities would now primarily function as holding centers for individuals already denied asylum, awaiting deportation.
The Italy-Albania migration deal, signed in November 2023 by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, was controversial from the outset. Critics described it as an outsourcing of Italy’s legal responsibilities toward asylum seekers, while supporters argued it was a necessary step to manage irregular migration flows more efficiently.
Meloni’s government, led by the far-right Brothers of Italy party, has made reducing illegal immigration a cornerstone of its political platform. In the 2022 elections, Meloni campaigned heavily on promises to “stop the boats” and regain control of Italy’s borders.
Despite these efforts, Italy has struggled to enforce deportation orders. According to official statistics, only around 4,000 irregular migrants were forcibly repatriated in 2023—a small fraction compared to countries like France and Germany. Many more simply ignored their removal orders, remaining in Italy or relocating within the European Union.
According to current Italian law, migrants whose asylum applications have been definitively rejected may be held in detention for up to 18 months while deportation procedures are finalized. It is not yet clear how long the current group of 40 men will remain in Albania, nor how soon their respective repatriations can be executed.
The repurposing of the Albanian facilities as deportation centers is viewed by government insiders as a temporary workaround while awaiting a ruling from the European Union’s Court of Justice. A favorable decision could eventually allow Italy to return to its original plan of processing new arrivals in Albania.
The eyes of Europe are on this unfolding experiment. Several EU nations, grappling with their own migration challenges, are closely observing the Italy-Albania model as a possible template. If successful—or validated by the EU’s top court—it could influence a shift in how member states handle asylum processing and deportation logistics in the future.
For now, however, the Meloni government faces continued criticism from opposition parties, human rights organizations, and legal experts who question the legality and morality of detaining asylum seekers outside national borders.
