Interior ministry officials in Rome dismissed the order as invalid but anti-migrant League leader Matteo Salvini praised the “exemplary” move.
Immigration has long been a contentious political issue in Italy, a main EU landing point for migrants crossing the Mediterranean, who often arrive first in Sicily and its sister island Lampedusa.
“Between now and midnight, all migrants in Sicily’s ‘hot spots’ and reception centres will have to be transferred to facilities outside the island,” according to a decree published on Sunday.
The document also bans any migrant from “entering, transiting and stopping over on the Sicilian region’s territory (which includes Lampedusa) with vessels big and small, including those belonging to charities”.
However, it is unclear how the drastic initiative could be implemented.
Sicily has no real means to transfer migrants outside the island and interior ministry officials say migration is legally a central government prerogative.
In recent weeks, Italy has seen surging numbers of migrant arrivals by sea and a spike in coronavirus infections, but most new cases of the virus have been linked to Italians returning from holidays in “high-risk” European countries, not migrants.
From August 1, 2019, to July 3, 2020, over 21,600 migrants arrived at Italy’s shores, almost 150 per cent more than the near 8700 landings the year before, according to official data.
Despite the sharp rise, the number of migrant arrivals is still far below numbers recorded in recent years, especially before Rome signed a deal with Libya for its coast guard to prevent migrant departures.
