More than 1,300 migrants arrived within 24 hours on the Italian island of Lampedusa between Sicily and North Africa, the Italian news agency ANSA reported, as quoted by Agerpres.

Migrants from Syria, Yemen and several African countries set off aboard small boats from the Tunisian city of Sfax, located less than 190 km from the island. From midnight to Thursday morning alone, almost 900 of them arrived in Lampedusa on 21 boats.

On Wednesday, two other migrant boats were in danger and were rescued by the coast guard, which took 38 people on board, followed by another 20 from Mediterranean waters. During the second operation, the body of a young woman was also found.

Many migrants still try to reach Lampedusa, Malta, Sicily or the Italian peninsula from Tunisia or Libya, although recently such attempts have had tragic consequences.

The Italian coastguard has been criticized in recent days for failing to come to the rescue of a ship sailing from Turkey in late February that capsized off the coast of Italy’s Calabria region.

Currently, the prosecutor’s office is investigating the events that led to the death of almost 70 migrants.

Italy is taking new measures against migrant flows

At the end of last month, the Italian parliament on Thursday approved a government decision that restricts the actions of ships with migrants on board and allows their confiscation.

According to the regulations, ships must request permission to call a port “immediately” after rescuing migrants from the Mediterranean, without looking for other boats carrying refugees.

In the past, the ships, used by non-governmental organizations, would spend several days at sea, often carrying out a series of rescue operations, before heading north to Italy.

The new law provides for fines of up to 50,000 euros for captains who do not follow the procedure, as well as confiscation of vessels in case of repeated violations.

“If immigration is not controlled, it creates exploitation, forced labor, illegal work. If immigration is not controlled, it creates enclaves of illegality and crime, causing a sense of social insecurity,” Nicola Molteni, Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of the Interior, argued in parliament.

The new law is part of a government effort in Rome to clamp down on activities that Prime Minister Giorgia Maloney says encourages migrants to risk the sea crossing from North Africa to Italy.

Actions against illegal immigration were a central component of the election platform that Maloney won last September.