Italy Considers Permits For Undocumented Migrants To Fill A Big Farmworker Gap

A Senegalese migrant collects oranges on the plain of Rosarno and San Ferdinando in Calabria, Italy, on Feb. 6. The lockdown countries imposed to stop the coronavirus pandemic have cut off the usual flow of seasonal farmworkers.  Alfonso Di Vicenzo/LightRocket via Getty

Sylvia Pogglioli for NPR reports that the global pandemic is reviving Italy’s fierce debate over immigration. The Italian government is considering giving work permits to thousands of undocumented immigrants in the country, as the COVID-19 pandemic threatens crop harvests.

Seasonal farmworkers usually go to Italy each year from countries such as Romania and Bulgaria, but recent lockdowns have kept them home. That’s creating a critical shortage of labor for picking fruits and vegetables needed for food and exports. To fill the gap, Italian Agriculture Minister Teresa Bellanova wants to grant work permits to hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants in the country. The proposal comes as Italy braces for deep economic impacts. If approved by parliament, the move would signal a change in a country that in recent years took strong measures to limit immigration.

KJ