Only allowing genuine refugees the right to stay aids their integration as their numbers are manageable for the host society, Italy's populist premier Giuseppe Conte said on Monday.
"It's important to only allow those migrants to stay who have the right to asylum. These are legal immigrants whose limited numbers allow us to integrate them," Conte said.
He was speaking to reporters after a visit to the Communita di Sant'Egidio Catholic charity in Rome.
Conte praised the Communita di Sant'Egidio's work, in particular "in fostering agreements and humanitarian corridors especially from Syria and the Horn of Africa."
The work done by charities and cooperatives and the initiatives they are involved in to assist migrants and refugees is "welcome" as such "solidarity" allows "greater social cohesion - which is to the common good," Conte said.
