One of the two architects of Italy's current immigration legislation said on Wednesday that Romano Prodi's centre-left government was set on letting into the country "anyone who wants to come".
Gianfranco Fini, leader of the right-wing National Alliance party and foreign minister in the previous centre-right government, said a bill just approved by the cabinet takes away most of the filters his law contained.
"The government has decided to allow anyone who wants to come here to do so legally, and this will create thousands of problems," Fini said.
The cabinet on Tuesday approved a bill that, if approved by parliament, would make it easier for immigrants to enter Italy through legal channels, taking away the need to have a job contract before they arrive.
The government claims the legislation is vital in order to tackle illegal immigration and, citing the large numbers of illegal immigrants now in Italy, says the law co-written by Fini is "not working".
"The government is playing with words when it says there are lots of illegal immigrants already here," Fini countered. "This is true, but not because our law failed. It's because in many cases the judiciary doesn't carry out expulsion orders".
If approved, the new law penned by Interior Minister Giuliano Amato and Welfare Minister Paolo Ferrero would allow Italians to stand as guarantors, or 'sponsors', for would-be immigrants.
Highly skilled or "talented" foreigners with expertise in fields such as science, culture, sport and entertainment would be eligible for fast-track residency permits, similar to points-based systems in use in other countries.
Fini predicted that this approach would fail to solve any problems. "Many will come to Italy, either with a sponsor or by declaring that they can support themselves. They'll look for work, they won't find it and so they'll be forced to live in poverty or to break the law," he said.
Minister Ferrero, a member of the Communist Refoundation Party, said Fini's comments were "demagoguery" and reiterated centre-left criticism of the current law.
"Fini's system has forced thousands of immigrant workers into clandestine existences and produced massive slave labour. It has allowed employers to evade taxes and social security contributions worth billions of euros," he said.
He said the new law would make "legal channels for entering the country more convenient than illegal ones".
The new bill has been praised by leading organisations working in the immigration sector. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said it viewed the measure "favourably, for its efforts to reduce the causes of illegal immigration"
Italy is a popular destination for would-be immigrants seeking a gateway into Europe, and thousands leave from north African ports every year, heading for its southern shores.
