The Italian government has begun relocating the first group of migrants to an immigration facility in Albania as part of a new initiative from the country’s interior ministry to process asylum candidates outside its borders.
The transfer of the individuals was facilitated by a five-year agreement signed in 2023 between Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Prime Minister Edi Rama of Albania, establishing two sites for evaluating the sanctuary claims of male refugees detained while traveling to Italian territory.
The $730 million centers, located in the municipalities of Gjader and Schengjin, are reportedly built to accommodate 3,000 people and will operate under Rome's legal jurisdiction, with local employees providing external security.
The new procedures have drawn criticism from immigration officials within the European Union. Dunja Mijatovic, the organization’s human rights chief, warned the measure could “significantly increase the risk of exposing refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants to human rights violations.”
Persons whose asylum applications are rejected will face likely deportation by Albanian authorities.
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