The ‘(In)security Decree’: Undermining Practices of Reception in the Italian Hosting Mechanism

In the past decade, academic and field research highlighted the benefits of local integration as a desirable solution for displacement. European migration policies, however, are far from implementing more welcoming migration regulations and are, instead, progressively enforcing stricter reception measures aimed at disincentivizing new arrivals. In step with the general strategy of containment practiced in Europe, Italy’s increasingly anti-immigrant rhetoric has precipitated a permanent state of emergency, empowering the government to progressively introduce various restrictions against asylum seekers and refugees. The anti-immigrant campaign culminated in 2018 with the so-called Security Decree that introduced important changes to the existing migration policy, especially the one governing the reception system. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, it illustrates the Italian secondary level of reception with its diffused integration model. Such integration is implemented through SAI (System of Reception and Integration) projects and is known for a number of effective practices that encourage social and economic inclusion in the territory. Next, it discusses the impact of the Security Decree (and its amendment) in the reception mechanism. Interviews with practitioners working in SAI projects revealed that the changes and the continuous modifications of the system became a source of disorientation and additional work, which forced many organizations to find alternative ways to continue to help migrants excluded from integration projects as imposed by the Security Decree. Furthermore, the political instrumentalization of the decree engendered an increased perception among professionals that governmental policies were actively trying to weaken the hosting mechanisms at all levels, undermining their work before public opinion. Ultimately, while the diffused integration model still offers solid reception practices, this empirical research reinforced the idea that legality and integration are still strongly interconnected and that a long-term and stable integration takes place when local organizations and national policies are aligned.