Just two weeks after its rushed opening on August 14, the new Center for Repatriation (CPR) in Porto Empedocle, Agrigento, has already encountered significant legal and operational challenges. Initially, six Tunisian men were detained at the facility, which is designed to hold migrants denied the right to stay in Italy. However, this week, the Palermo tribunal ordered the release of five of them, citing insufficient justification for their detention.
The CPR was established swiftly by the Ministry of the Interior, partly due to delays in constructing similar centers in Albania. Despite its proximity to an already operating migrant reception center with a capacity of 280, the CPR is much smaller, holding only 70 detainees. It was intended to fast-track the deportation of migrants from “safe” countries under the controversial “Cutro decree.” However, the tribunal found that these individuals had not received an adequate individual assessment, contradicting the automatic detention approach prescribed by the decree.
Currently, only one 23-year-old Tunisian man remains detained at the Porto Empedocle CPR. His detention has been upheld due to the risk of flight, making him the only person in Italy subjected to the accelerated deportation procedures under the “Cutro decree.” This follows a similar case in Pozzallo last year, where four Tunisian migrants were released after a judge deemed parts of the decree unconstitutional.
