Parliament passes Security Decree but promises ‘decreto bis’ to tone down €615 lawyer bonus for voluntary returns

After weeks of parliamentary trench warfare, the Chamber of Deputies on 23 April granted the government a confidence vote (203 yeas, 117 nays) on the Security Decree—a sprawling law that tightens knife-carrying rules and introduces incentives aimed at boosting assisted voluntary returns of irregular migrants. The most controversial clause, Article 30-bis, would pay €615 to lawyers who convince clients to accept repatriation, a provision denounced by the bar association as a blow to professional independence. To avoid a presidential veto, Palazzo Chigi has pledged a follow-up ‘decreto bis’ at Friday’s cabinet meeting in Montecitorio. According to drafts seen by Il Tempo, the corrective text will widen eligibility for the bonus to NGO operators and cultural mediators and decouple payment from the migrant’s actual departure—moves intended to neutralise accusations of bounty hunting. Sources add that implementation will be shifted to a later ministerial regulation, effectively parking the measure until after the summer. Deputy Minister Alfredo Mantovano insisted that “the money is there” and framed the incentive as bureaucratic support comparable to tax-filing assistance. Yet budget officials warn that expanding the pool of beneficiaries could inflate costs beyond the decree’s current €8 million allocation. If funding gaps emerge, the Cour des Comptes may block spending authorisations, delaying the entire voluntary-return programme. For employers who rely on non-EU talent, the episode underscores how quickly political backlashes can reshape migration tools. HR teams arranging out-placements or end-of-assignment repatriations should not assume the €615 facilitation will materialise this year. Immigration counsel should also watch for the decree bis to clarify whether the incentive can be combined with EU-funded Assisted Voluntary Return (AVR) schemes already managed by IOM offices in Italy.