Giving shelter to children who are fleeing war is "a pleasure" but deporting illegal migrants is a duty, anti-migrant interior minister Matteo Salvini tweeted on Wednesday after he met 51 refugees who arrived in Italy from Niger.
"For me, welcoming children who are escaping war, as I did this morning, is a pleasure," Salvini tweeted from Pratica di Mare military airport south of Rome where the refugees landed.
"Expelling the illegal immigrant hoards is a duty," the tweet added.
The refugees who arrived in Italy on Wednesday were selected for international protection by the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR, the statement said.
