Some 16,000 migrants were repatriated from Italy last year, a centre-left lawmaker stated on Thursday, arguing that illegal immigration needed to be abolished as a crime.
"Last year, around 16,000 migrants were deported," ruling centre-left Democratic Party MP Gennaro Migliore told Italian public broadcaster RAI's Agora talk-show.
Given that many migrants are fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, Italy should give them shelter, said.
"Those deserving protection should be given refuge. And I believe the crime of illegal immigration should be abolished," Gennaro said.
Illegal immigration has been a crime in Italy since August 2009 when a previous conservative government introduced the controversial Bossi-Fini law, which introduced fines, immediate deportation and up to four years in jail for re-offenders.
Over 23,000 asylum seekers have reached Italy and Greece since the beginning of the year, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said on Wednesday. At least 58 people have died trying to reach Europe this month, the OIM said.
A total of 22,895 made it to Greece and 260 to Italy - against a total of 6,000 in January 2014.
Over a million asylum seekers reached Europe in 2015, most of them from war-torn Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.