Thousands of police deployed to keep the rallies apart as far-right ‘remigration’ initiative gains traction.
Published On 13 Jun 2026
Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of the Italian capital for rival demonstrations over migration policy, as a far-right proposal seeking hardline migration measures is set to advance to discussion in parliament.
An anti-migration march in Rom’s Prati neighbourhood on Saturday drew several thousand participants, while a competing pro-migration event in a separate part of the city attracted tens of thousands.
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Thousands of police were also deployed to ensure the two rival groups would remain apart.
The demonstrations come after a petition advocating for sweeping measures targeting foreigners – including coercive returns to their countries of origin – gathered the 50,000 signatures needed to trigger parliamentary discussion.
Named “Remigration and Reconquest,” the petition has pushed the once-fringe concept of “remigration” – which in far-right contexts can mean the mass deportation of ethnic minorities – into the political mainstream.
“We want to kick the illegal immigrants out – force them out, because they shouldn’t be here,” Luca Marsella, spokesman for the neofascist group Casapound, said at the anti-migrant rally Saturday.
“And since we’re not politically correct, we’ll say we want to send the legal immigrants home, too – the ones who clearly haven’t assimilated or integrated.”
On several occasions during the anti-migrant march, many participants raised their arms in a fascist salute, shouting “Duce! Duce!,” in reference to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, reported The Associated Press.
‘Incompatible with Italian constitution’
The debate on migration represents a delicate balancing act for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition.
While the anti-migration League party that is in her coalition backs opening discussion on the petition, Meloni’s Brothers of Italy and centrist allies have been more cautious about endorsing a proposal linked to extremist circles.
Critics, including opposition parties and legal experts, argue the proposal would violate constitutional and international anti-discrimination principles by targeting people based on ethnic background, including naturalised citizens and their descendants.
“The so-called remigration bill invokes a logic of exclusion based on ethnic and cultural background that is incompatible with the Italian constitution and the fundamental principles of the rule of law,” said left-wing politician Angelo Bonelli, according to Italy’s la Repubblica newspaper.
The controversy comes even as Meloni’s government pursues a parallel policy of expanding legal migration, having approved a multiyear plan to admit hundreds of thousands of non-EU workers to address labour shortages in key economic sectors.
