ROME (AP) — Italy’s far-right government on Monday approved a new decree aimed at overcoming judicial hurdles that risked derailing a controversial migration deal with Albania.
Under the new decree — which is effective immediately — the government shortened the list of countries considered “safe” by law, meaning that Rome can repatriate to those countries migrants who didn't win asylum using a fast-track procedure.
The number of safe countries is now reduced to 19 from the previous 22, excluding Cameroon, Colombia and Nigeria.
The move follows a ruling by Rome judges, who on Friday rejected the detention of the first 12 migrants sent to a newly-opened reception center in Albania, arguing that their countries of origin — Bangladesh and Egypt — were not safe enough for them to be sent back.
Under the ruling, all the 12 migrants were brought back to Italy, where they would be able to re-apply for asylum.
Rome judges motivated their decision citing a recent ruling by the European Court of Justice, which indicated that a country can be deemed safe for migrants' repatriation only if its entire territory can be considered safe.
The ruling was an early stumbling block to the five-year deal between Italy and Albania for Tirana to host 3,000 migrants per month picked up in international waters by the Italian coast guard. They will be vetted for possible asylum in Italy or sent back to their countries.
Italian Premier Minister Giorgia Meloni has strongly pushed the deal, defending it as a new “model” to handle illegal migration.
Meloni had attacked the ruling by Rome magistrates as “prejudicial” and promised to overcome any judicial obstacle.
Human rights groups and NGOs active in the Mediterranean have slammed the Italy-Albania agreement as a dangerous precedent in conflict with international laws.
Legal experts also noted that the new decree approved by the Meloni government could not be enough to solve possible future conflicts, as EU rulings prevail over conflicting national laws.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi on Monday rejected the criticism saying that the new decree was in line with the European Court of Justice’s ruling and in accordance with a new EU regulation that will become effective in 2026.
FILE - The first 12 migrants that Italy sent to a newly opened asylum processing center in Shengjin, Albania, disembark in the harbor of Bari, in southern Italy, where they are taken back by an Italian Coast Guard ship, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Valeria Ferraro, Filer)
FILE - An Italian coast guard vessel leaves the port of Shengjin, Albania, to Italy carrying 12 of 16 migrants intercepted in international waters and sent to the two reception facilities in Albania earlier this week after a court in Rome rejected their detention, on Saturday, Oct, 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Vlasov Sulaj, File)
FILE - Migrant and security officials walk at the port of Shengjin, northwestern Albania. Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024 after disembarking from the Italian navy ship Libra, carrying the first group of 16 migrants intercepted in international waters. (AP Photo/Vlasov Sulaj, File)
ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) — Kamala Harris teamed up with Liz Cheney on Monday to make a bipartisan appeal to Republican voters uneasy about Donald Trump, describing the former president as a malignant force that needs to be excised from American politics.
Cheney, a former congresswoman from Wyoming, reminded people that “you can vote your conscience and not ever have to say a word to anybody.”
“There will be millions of Republicans who do that on Nov. 5," she predicted.
Cheney made the comments in Royal Oak, Michigan, outside of Detroit, during her second of three events with Harris. Their campaign swing began near Philadelphia and was scheduled to end near Milwaukee, reflecting an intense focus on moderate, suburban voters in battleground states.
During the first event, in Malvern, Pennsylvania, Harris said that Trump “has been using the power of the presidency to demean and to divide us” and “people are exhausted with that.”
“People around the world are watching,” Harris said. “And sometimes I do fret a bit about whether we as Americans truly understand how important we are to the world.”
Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, was essentially exiled from the Republican Party for participating in a congressional investigation of Trump's involvement in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. She lost her congressional seat in a primary battle two years ago.
Although she disagrees with Harris on some issues, Cheney said her conservative philosophy means prioritizing the Constitution over her political party. She also said she's concerned about allowing a “totally erratic, completely unstable” Trump to run foreign policy.
“Our adversaries know that they can play Donald Trump," she said. "And we cannot afford to take that risk.”
Trump lashed out at Cheney on social media on Monday, calling her “dumb as a rock” and accusing her of being a “war hawk.”
The Republican nominee has frequently tried to paint Harris, who is from deep blue California, as a radical liberal, but she struck a moderate tone during her appearance with Cheney.
Harris promised to “invite good ideas from wherever they come" and “cut red tape," and she said “there should be a healthy two party system" in the country.
“We need to be able to have these good intense debates about issues that are grounded in fact,” Harris said.
“Imagine!” Cheney responded.
“Let’s start there!" Harris said as the audience clapped. "Can you believe that’s an applause line?”
Although Cheney has long described herself as pro-life, she suggested that Republican women should vote for Harris on the issue of reproductive health because restrictions on abortion have gone too far since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Cheney said women aren’t getting the medical care that they need and “we’re seeing people come together to say . . . that’s not sustainable for us as a country, and it has to change.”
Whenever abortion rights have been on the ballot in states, they have succeeded, including in red states. But it's not clear whether the issue will propel Republican women to the polls in this year's presidential election.
Harris said she believes that defending abortion rights can appeal to people on both sides of the aisle.
“The American people vote for freedom, regardless of the party with which they’re registered to vote,” she told reporters after arriving in Michigan. Harris also warned that “our daughters are going to have fewer rights than their grandmothers.”
The more intimate settings on Monday were a shift for Harris, whose campaign has mostly focused on rallies with thousands of people. The audiences listened intently to her and Cheney, sometimes nodding along or smiling. During Harris’ story about a young boy who was afraid of a school classroom where there wasn’t a closet to hide from a shooter, some eyes welled with tears.
With just over two weeks to go before the presidential election and the race a dead heat, the Democratic nominee is looking for support from every possible voter. Her campaign is hoping to persuade those who haven’t made up their minds, mobilize any Democrats considering sitting this one out, and pick off voters in areas where support for Trump may be fading. All three of the counties visited by Harris on Monday were won by Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who ran against Trump for the Republican nomination.
A few votes here and there could add up to an overall win. In Waukesha County, for example, Haley won more than 9,000 primary votes even after she dropped out of the race. Overall, Wisconsin was decided for President Joe Biden in 2020 by just 20,000 votes. In-person early voting in the state starts Tuesday.
Cheney is not the only member of her party to back Harris. More than 100 former Republican officeholders and officials joined Harris last week in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, not far from where Gen. George Washington led hundreds of troops across the Delaware River to a major victory in the Revolutionary War.
Near the end of her campaign, Harris has increasingly focused on Trump's lies about the election and his role in the violent mob's failed efforts on Jan. 6, which he has called a “day of love.”
On Monday, Harris repeatedly noted that Gen. Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reportedly said that Trump is “fascist to the core.” That's in Bob Woodward's latest book.
She also said voters should take Trump’s rhetoric seriously rather than write it off as a “sick sense of humor.”
“Some people find it humorous what he says and it’s just silly,” she said. “But understand how serious it is.”
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks as former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney listens during a town hall at the Royal Oak Theatre in Royal Oak, Mich., Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Moderator Maria Shriver speaks during a town hall with Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at the Royal Oak Theatre in Royal Oak, Mich., Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks with reporters before a town hall at the Royal Oak Theatre in Royal Oak, Mich., Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks with reporters before a town hall at the Royal Oak Theatre in Royal Oak, Mich., Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, right, shakes hands with moderator Sarah Longwell, publisher of The Bulwark, at the conclusion of a town hall at The People's Light in Malvern, Pa., Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney speaks as Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris listens during a town hall at The People's Light in Malvern, Pa., Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks with members of the press on board Air Force Two at Philadelphia International Airport, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, in Philadelphia, before departing to Michigan. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris listens as Former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney speaks during a town hall at The People's Light in Malvern, Pa., Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks with reporters before a town hall at the Royal Oak Theatre in Royal Oak, Mich., Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a church service and early vote event at Divine Faith Ministries International, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Jonesboro, Ga. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
