Italian Border Patrols Pick Up Boatloads Of Illegal Immigrants

LAMPEDUSA, ITALY - JUNE 21: Italian custom Police "Guardia di Finanza" Officers take on board illegal Immigrants on June 21, 2005 in Lampedusa, Italy. Tens of thousands of immigrants land on the Italian coast each year, most of them heading from north Africa on ramshackle boats.In the Mediterranean Sea between Malta and Tunisia, Lampedusa Island is one of the main gateways for illegal immigration from Africa into Europe. According to a report by Amnesty International, Illegal immigrants who land in Italy consistently allege they have been abused, holding centres are overcrowded and no legal assistance is offered. Italian authorities refused to give access to the centres to enable further investigations by Amnesty. The Amnesty International report says 15,647 people were held in the centres in 2004: a 9 per-cent increase on the previous year. (Photo by Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images)