The Other Fathers of Confederation
Commentary
While Lower and Upper Canadians were grappling with the 1840 Constitution that forced them together in an unpopular Union, Pope Pius IX, 6,500 kilometres away in Rome, was planning a Confederation of the Italian states with himself as president.
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9 hours ago
Italians vote on citizenship and job protections amid low awareness and turnout concerns
ROME -- Italians vote over two days starting Sunday on referendums that would make it easier for children born in Italy to foreigners to obtain citizenship, and on providing more job protections. But apparent low public awareness risks rendering the vote invalid if turnout is not high enough. Campaigners for the change in the citizenship law say it will help second-generation Italians born in the country to non- European Union parents better integrate into a culture they already see as theirs. Italian singer Ghali, who was born in Milan to Tunisian parents, urged people to vote in an online post, noting that the referendum risks failure if at least 50% plus one of eligible voters don't turn out. 'I was born here, I always lived here, but I only received citizenship at the age of 18,'' Ghali said, urging a yes vote to reduce the residency requirement from 10 to five years. The new rules, if passed, could affect about 2.5 million foreign nationals who still struggle to be recognized as citizens. The measures were proposed by Italy's main union and left-wing opposition parties. Premier Giorgia Meloni has said she would show up at the polls but not cast a ballot — an action widely criticized by the left as antidemocratic, since it will not help reach the necessary threshold to make the vote valid. 'While some members of her ruling coalition have openly called for abstention, Meloni has opted for a more subtle approach,' said analyst Wolfango Piccoli of the Teneo consultancy based in London. 'It's yet another example of her trademark fence-sitting.'' Supporters say this reform would bring Italy's citizenship law in line with many other European countries, promoting greater social integration for long-term residents. It would also allow faster access to civil and political rights, such as the right to vote, eligibility for public employment and freedom of movement within the EU. 'The real drama is that neither people who will vote 'yes' nor those who intend to vote 'no' or abstain have an idea of what (an) ordeal children born from foreigners have to face in this country to obtain a residence permit,' said Selam Tesfaye, an activist and campaigner with the Milan-based human rights group 'Il Cantiere.' 'Foreigners are also victims of blackmail, as they can't speak up against poor working conditions, exploitation and discrimination, due to the precariousness of the permit of stay,' she added. Activists and opposition parties also denounced the lack of public debate on the measures, accusing the governing center-right coalition of trying to dampen interest in sensitive issues that directly impact immigrants and workers. In May, Italy's AGCOM communications authority lodged a complaint against RAI state television and other broadcasters for a lack of adequate and balanced coverage. 'This referendum is really about dignity and the right to belong, which is key for many people who were born here and spent most of their adult life contributing to Italian society. For them, a lack of citizenship is like an invisible wall,' said Michelle Ngonmo, a cultural entrepreneur and advocate for diversity in the fashion industry, who has lived most of her life in Italy after moving as a child from Cameroon. 'You are good enough to work and pay taxes, but not to be fully recognized as Italian. This becomes a handicap for young generations, particularly in the creative field, creating frustration, exclusion and a big waste of potential,' she said. The four other referendums aim to roll back labor reforms, making it harder to fire some workers and increase compensation for those laid off by small businesses, reversing a previous law passed by a center-left government a decade ago. One of the questions on the ballot also addresses the urgent issue of security at work, restoring joint liability to both contractors and subcontractors for workplace injuries. Opinion polls published in mid-May showed that only 46% of Italians were aware of the issues driving the referendums. Turnout projections were even weaker for a vote scheduled for the first weekend of Italy's school holidays, at around 35% of around 50 million electors, well below the required quorum. 'Many believe that the referendum institution should be reviewed in light of the high levels of abstention (that) emerged in recent elections and the turnout threshold should be lowered," said Lorenzo Pregliasco, political analyst and pollster at YouTrend. Some analysts note however that the center-left opposition could claim a victory even if the referendum fails on condition that the turnout surpasses the 12.3 million voters who backed the winning center-right coalition in the 2022 general election.
Miami Herald
9 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Rifles, stun grenades, armored trucks in ICE raids spur tensions
The Trump administration is intensifying efforts to round up migrants. It's also doing so with increasingly aggressive tactics. In scenes from San Diego to Massachusetts, agents outfitted with bullet-resistant vests and often displaying military-style rifles are shown in social media videos and photos being escorted along city streets by armored vehicles. A clip from Rhode Island shows an agent standing in a truck's open hatch, manning a rifle. The operations led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, often joined by local law enforcement, have coincided with a dramatic increase in arrests of people for running afoul of immigration laws — with ICE reporting more than 1,600 daily apprehensions. That's more than double the 630 average of recent weeks and a roughly 450% increase over typical numbers during former President Joe Biden's last year in office. The latest figures are still barely half of the administration's goal, but the White House is rapidly moving forward with efforts to remove legal obstacles to deportations while ramping up prison capacity and enforcement capability. In the meantime, it's deploying social-media videos with quick edits and throbbing techno beats, made-for-TV moments to get attention. 'This is not normal,' said David Shirk, a political science professor and expert on U.S.-Mexico border issues at the University of San Diego. 'It is a response to what has been a long-standing problem that is greatly exaggerated and intended to convey a sense of shock and awe.' Critics have long decried the increasing militarization of U.S. police forces, which took off after equipment used in the Iraq war was handed over to state and local forces. In the case of ICE's immigration raids, Shirk and others say the tactics aren't only over the top, they risk further inflaming already tense situations, making it more dangerous for the targets, bystanders and the agents themselves. They say the raids are disproportionate to the threat and seem designed to maximize optics for Trump and his supporters, while demonizing migrants who lack legal status but are otherwise law abiding. ICE officials are unapologetic about the shows of force, saying agents must take maximum precautions to protect themselves from dangerous gang members and other criminals. And if the high-profile raids encourage other migrants without documentation to leave, all the better. In social media posts, ICE routinely urges people to avoid arrest by self deporting. In San Diego last week, an operation targeting workers at the popular Italian restaurant Buona Forchetta included agents dressed in camouflage, helmeted and masked, and some carrying rifles. It drew as many as 250 spontaneous protesters who shouted abuse at the agents. Eventually officials deployed stun grenades to disperse the crowd. The agency declined to specify the exact number of arrests or detail any criminal records of those taken into custody. 'The officers took appropriate action and followed their training to use the minimum amount of force necessary,' Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Homeland Security department, said in a statement. 'In large part due to protests like this, our ICE officers are facing a 413% increase in assaults while carrying out arrests.' Operations across Massachusetts over the past month resulted in the arrests of nearly 1,500 people for immigration violations, more than half of whom the government said had criminal records in the U.S. or abroad. Heavily armed and masked officers were involved in many of the apprehensions. In raids in Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard last month, about 40 people were arrested and moved out of the area on a Coast Guard patrol boat. In February, agents in Phoenix used an armored vehicle equipped with a battering ram when they arrested a 61-year-old man. At the time, the agency described the arrest as part of a routine operation and said the man had been deported several times and had multiple criminal convictions. 'The more police dress up in military gear and arm themselves with military equipment, the more likely they are to see themselves as at war with people, and that is not what we want,' said Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, deputy project manager for policing at the American Civil Liberties Union. An expanded show of force by policing agencies can 'lead to unnecessary violence that leads to unnecessary harm,' she added. Todd Lyons, the acting head of ICE, this week defended agents' actions, including wearing masks, saying it was for their protection as the public grows increasingly hostile toward their work. 'I am sorry if people are offended by them wearing masks, but I'm not going to let my officers and agents go out there and put their lives on the line, and their family's lives on the line, because people don't like what immigration enforcement is,' Lyons said during a press conference. He cited incidents of people identifying agents and then harassing them and their family members online, sometimes posting children's photos and other private information. The agency has made tens of thousands of arrests and deported tens of thousands of foreigners since Trump took office. But top administration aren't happy with the pace. In a tense meeting last month with dozens of top ICE officials Stephen Miller, a top aide to Trump and an architect of the the administration's hardline policies, said arrests should average a minimum of 3,000 a day. Many of those senior agents and officers left the meeting worried they would lose their jobs if the quota isn't met, according to a person familiar with the private discussion. The growing frequency of operations — and the gear agents are toting — can be unsettling to community members who aren't accustomed to such broad enforcement operations, according to Jerry Robinette, a former ICE agent who led the agency's Homeland Security Investigations office in San Antonio until he retired in 2012. 'They are in areas where people aren't used to seeing them and some folks are taken aback by what they are seeing, taken aback by the show of force,' said Robinette, adding that it's hard to second guess the show of force in San Diego without more details. 'Without knowing what the underlying crime that they were concerned about, its really hard to say this was an overkill.' Robinette and others said raids involving heavily armed and helmeted agents aren't unheard of in HSI operations. He said a more robust presence is often used in cases involving serious criminal organizations, including drug trafficking networks. In Warwick, Rhode Island, last month, a heavily armed contingent of officers was deployed to arrest a Guatemalan man who had evaded arrest during an April traffic stop. In that incident, according to federal court records, the suspect flailed about and wiggled away from arresting officers, leading one to twist her ankle and ultimately fracture her leg. The suspect was charged with assault, resisting and impeding a law enforcement officer after his May arrest. He is being held in federal custody, court records show. In San Diego, there's been no clarity on who was targeted by the ICE raid at the Italian restaurant. The tactics raised alarms from local officials. 'Militarized immigration raids in our neighborhoods erode trust, destabilize families and undermine the constitutional right to due process,' County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer said in a statement posted to X. City Councilman Sean Elo-Rivera posted a photo of the restaurant raid to Instagram and wrote the word 'terrorists' over the image. Others have described ICE agents as a 'gestapo.' Lyons, in an interview with Fox News, said such descriptions of his officers were 'just plain disgusting.' Elo-Rivera said he stands by his comments, and described the show of force as unnecessary and intended to instill fear. 'It would scare anyone who saw them,' Elo-Rivera said. 'Nobody is safer as a result of the Trump administration attempting to enforce immigration laws.' Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
The Hill
9 hours ago
- The Hill
Italians vote on citizenship and job protections amid low awareness and turnout concerns
ROME (AP) — Italians vote over two days starting Sunday on referendums that would make it easier for children born in Italy to foreigners to obtain citizenship, and on providing more job protections. But apparent low public awareness risks rendering the vote invalid if turnout is not high enough. Campaigners for the change in the citizenship law say it will help second-generation Italians born in the country to non- European Union parents better integrate into a culture they already see as theirs. Italian singer Ghali, who was born in Milan to Tunisian parents, urged people to vote in an online post, noting that the referendum risks failure if at least 50% plus one of eligible voters don't turn out. 'I was born here, I always lived here, but I only received citizenship at the age of 18,'' Ghali said, urging a yes vote to reduce the residency requirement from 10 to five years. The new rules, if passed, could affect about 2.5 million foreign nationals who still struggle to be recognized as citizens. The measures were proposed by Italy's main union and left-wing opposition parties. Premier Giorgia Meloni has said she would show up at the polls but not cast a ballot — an action widely criticized by the left as antidemocratic, since it will not help reach the necessary threshold to make the vote valid. 'While some members of her ruling coalition have openly called for abstention, Meloni has opted for a more subtle approach,' said analyst Wolfango Piccoli of the Teneo consultancy based in London. 'It's yet another example of her trademark fence-sitting.'' Supporters say this reform would bring Italy's citizenship law in line with many other European countries, promoting greater social integration for long-term residents. It would also allow faster access to civil and political rights, such as the right to vote, eligibility for public employment and freedom of movement within the EU. 'The real drama is that neither people who will vote 'yes' nor those who intend to vote 'no' or abstain have an idea of what (an) ordeal children born from foreigners have to face in this country to obtain a residence permit,' said Selam Tesfaye, an activist and campaigner with the Milan-based human rights group 'Il Cantiere.' 'Foreigners are also victims of blackmail, as they can't speak up against poor working conditions, exploitation and discrimination, due to the precariousness of the permit of stay,' she added. Activists and opposition parties also denounced the lack of public debate on the measures, accusing the governing center-right coalition of trying to dampen interest in sensitive issues that directly impact immigrants and workers. In May, Italy's AGCOM communications authority lodged a complaint against RAI state television and other broadcasters for a lack of adequate and balanced coverage. 'This referendum is really about dignity and the right to belong, which is key for many people who were born here and spent most of their adult life contributing to Italian society. For them, a lack of citizenship is like an invisible wall,' said Michelle Ngonmo, a cultural entrepreneur and advocate for diversity in the fashion industry, who has lived most of her life in Italy after moving as a child from Cameroon. 'You are good enough to work and pay taxes, but not to be fully recognized as Italian. This becomes a handicap for young generations, particularly in the creative field, creating frustration, exclusion and a big waste of potential,' she said. The four other referendums aim to roll back labor reforms, making it harder to fire some workers and increase compensation for those laid off by small businesses, reversing a previous law passed by a center-left government a decade ago. One of the questions on the ballot also addresses the urgent issue of security at work, restoring joint liability to both contractors and subcontractors for workplace injuries. Opinion polls published in mid-May showed that only 46% of Italians were aware of the issues driving the referendums. Turnout projections were even weaker for a vote scheduled for the first weekend of Italy's school holidays, at around 35% of around 50 million electors, well below the required quorum. 'Many believe that the referendum institution should be reviewed in light of the high levels of abstention (that) emerged in recent elections and the turnout threshold should be lowered,' said Lorenzo Pregliasco, political analyst and pollster at YouTrend. Some analysts note however that the center-left opposition could claim a victory even if the referendum fails on condition that the turnout surpasses the 12.3 million voters who backed the winning center-right coalition in the 2022 general election. ___ Associated Press writer Colleen Barry in Rome contributed.
