Regional newspaper È Caserta revealed on 24 April that the Interior Ministry has shortlisted Castel Volturno, a seaside town north of Naples, for one of the new Centres for Repatriation (CPR) financed under Decree-Law 23/2026. Within hours, the CGIL trade-union federation and local bishop Pietro Lagnese issued rare joint statements calling the move “a grave strategic error” for an area already struggling with informal labour markets and high migrant density. Castel Volturno’s foreign population—about 16 % of residents—provides seasonal farm labour but also faces chronic housing shortages. Critics argue that placing a detention facility in the same municipality will deepen social stigma, harm tourism and divert funds from integration projects. From a mobility-management perspective, CPR expansion signals that overstayers and rejected asylum-seekers will face faster removal, raising the stakes for employers to keep assignees’ paperwork pristine. At the same time, local opposition could delay construction and create uncertainty about bed capacity, potentially limiting the decree’s effectiveness. The controversy highlights Italy’s broader policy pivot toward "internal border" tools—detention, incentives for voluntary return, and stricter policing—rather than large-scale regularisation. Companies operating in Campania’s agri-food and logistics hubs should monitor labour-market tensions that may follow. The Interior Ministry has not commented, but tender documents specify that the site must be operational by December 2026 to qualify for EU co-financing, giving activists a tight window if they wish to block or relocate the project.
Source: È Caserta
