ROME: Italians have belatedly realised that Silvio Berlusconi's crackdown on illegal immigrants could deprive them of hundreds of thousands of foreigners who clean their homes and look after their children and elderly relatives. Having elected the conservative media mogul to a third term as prime minister in April, thanks partly to his vows to crack down on illegal immigrants, they are now pleading for foreign cleaners, nannies and care-workers to be exempted. Their pleas may be falling on deaf ears. "Why should a housekeeper have rights but not a bricklayer?" asked Interior Minister Roberto Maroni, architect of draft laws to be rushed through parliament, which have caused concern in Europe that the right-wing government may be fomenting racism. Italy saw a record rise in immigration last year, new data shows, with 454,000 newcomers making a total 3.5 million out of a country of 58 million people. Today in Europe Wrapping up Cannes, and reminiscing France to open early to eastern EU workers Britain drops opposition to cluster bombs ban Of these, the biggest groups were Romanians whom many locals blame for crime, especially Roma people. Amnesty International warned politicians and media against "racist language", saying: "Italy risks becoming a dangerous country not just for Roma and Romanians but for all of us." The number of foreign domestic workers is impossible to verify because so many are illegal. But consumer groups estimate they total 1.7 million, of whom only 745,000 are registered with tax authorities and many do not even have residence permits. In Rome about 100,000 foreigners looking after the old and disabled are illegal, says consumer body ADOC, which gets calls from worried families "who don't want to live outside the law". Some live in grim conditions, forced to sleep in the kitchen and be on call 24 hours a day, for 600-800 (480-630 pounds) euros a month. Most are women from countries like Peru, Ecuador, the Philippines and Romania, some of whom say they fear for their future under a government which includes the anti-immigrant Northern League, whose deputy leader is Maroni.

SCARED "I read the newspapers, I watch television, so I see what they want to do and of course I am scared about what will happen to me and my family," said one Philippine woman, who works as a house cleaner and babysitter -- illegally, so far -- in Milan. Afraid to give her name, the 27-year-old said she arrived a year ago and her employer is helping her apply for residency. "I want to have everything in order but these people, the government, they make it even more difficult for us to try to be here," she said. "It feels impossible for us to make our home here because we are looked down upon." The new measures will make illegal immigration a jailable offence, confiscate apartments rented to illegal immigrants, speed up expulsions, extend the time they can be held and turn some camps into detention centres. Some centre-left opposition figures accuse Maroni of rushing out "improvised" legislation that plays on public fears of crime and could hurt ordinary families with both parents working who need childcare or nurses for elderly or infirm relatives. The Italy of Values party (IdV), in mocking tones, said that between illegal immigrants and their Italian employers, Maroni could find himself "slapping 3 million people in jail". The minister rules out mass incarcerations for foreigners already in Italy, saying jail terms would apply to newcomers only -- though speedy expulsions could still affect them. "We have no intention of jailing 500,000 people," Maroni told one television programme. (Additional reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian and Massimiliano Di Giorgio; Editing by Richard Balmforth) -->.

( International Herald Tribune del 29/05/2008 )