Migrant-related issues have been tackled in Italy and in Rome since the 1990s. The foreign-born population living in Italy has multiplied by fourteen between 1990 and 2015, from above 350 000 in 1991 to about five million in 2015, turning Italy from a country of emigration into a country of immigration. Rome is a migration hub and the biggest city in Italy for number of migrants, with close to 380 000 foreign residents in 2017 coming from 183 different countries (Roma Capitale 2017). Most of the migrants transit in the city, though sometimes it can take years, before continuing their journey, often towards northern European destinations. Although since 1990 an articulated national legislative framework for migrant integration has been developed, it still struggles to fully translate into a comprehensive and co-ordinated implementation of integration policies, and the vision for migrant inclusion has remained fragmented both at local and national level. Initially focussing primarily on overcoming early obstacles related to reception and registration, the Italian public response increasingly mainstreamed integration-related measures across different policy sectors including health, housing, work, education, participation in social and public life, support to family reunification, etc.
Since the early 2000s, reception and early integration of asylum seekers and refugees have been articulated through a co-ordinated and multi-level protection system (the SPRAR). Since 2015, however, Italy has experienced a rapid increase in arrivals: 180 000 new arrivals reached Italian shores in 2016, and in January 2016, 15 000 non-EU newcomers were registered in the Metropolitan City of Rome either as asylum seekers, refugees or subsidiary protection status holders. In order to enlarge the capacity of the SPRAR system, the Italian government established a parallel emergency reception system (CAS) with looser standards in terms of co-ordination with local authorities and early integration measures. In addition, NGOs and faith-based organisations are omnipresent in both areas, reception and long-term integration. Historically, they have generated a myriad of solutions, adapting rapidly to changing local needs. Non-state actors intervene in support of migrants and refugees, either fulfilling their own mandates or implementing services outsourced by the city of Rome.
Lack of cross-levels policy tools and funding to coherently address integration issues has to be understood in the framework of the economic situation of Italian host communities and fiscal constraints. Public resources for social services for all citizens have decreased significantly in recent years. For instance between 2006 and 2016, the National Fund for Social Policy’s (FNPS) budget decreased by almost 40% - from EUR 825 million in 2006 to EUR 311 million in 2016. Similarly, in Rome funding for social services decreased by 6.1% - from EUR 366 million in 2012 to EUR 344 million in 2014. At the same time, the demand for social services by poor and homeless national groups increased by 5% between 2012 and 2013.
Following the principle of universal access to public services, most of the actions developed by the sub-national administration - and described in this report - are not migrant-specific, but apply to all residents based on their level of vulnerability.
Regional and local authorities are in charge of the implementation of critical integration-related measures, including services for accessing the labour market, health and adult education. Their action is framed by the availability of resources: allocated either by the national government, collected locally, received from foundations and charities, or from EU funding.
In the absence of a city-wide strategy for migrant integration, measures are often emergency-driven. The increase of arrivals in 2015 contributed to ‘revealing’ the city’s long-standing housing and social exclusion challenges regardless of the specific recipient categories in Rome’s population.