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ROME (AP) \u2014 Tens of thousands of people marched through the streets of the Italian capital in anti- and pro- migration<\/a> demonstrations Saturday, after a far-right citizens\u2019 initiative seeking sweeping measures against migrants garnered enough support to be brought to Parliament.<\/p>\n A petition by the initiative, named \u201cRemigration and Reconquest,\u201d gathered the 50,000 signatures needed to trigger parliamentary discussion, pushing the once-fringe concept of \u201cremigration\u201d into the political mainstream. No date has been scheduled yet for a vote.<\/p>\n The proposal, promoted by right-wing groups, calls for sweeping measures targeting foreigners, including coercive returns, incentives to leave Italy and broader policies critics say could extend to legal residents.<\/p>\n Several thousand demonstrators from around Italy gathered for the anti-migration march, singing the national anthem. On several occasions, many of them raised their arms in the fascist salute, shouting \u201cDuce! Duce!,” a reference to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, who ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943.<\/p>\n A rival, pro-migration demonstration saw tens of thousands of people take to the streets in another part of Rome Saturday evening. That march was attended by various left-wing groups and trade unions, with some demonstrators waving Palestinian flags.<\/p>\n Thousands of police were deployed to ensure the two rival groups would remain apart. No violence was reported.<\/p>\n The debate on migration represents a delicate balancing act for Premier Giorgia Meloni\u2019s right-wing coalition. While the anti-migration League has backed opening discussion, Meloni\u2019s Brothers of Italy and centrist allies have been more cautious about endorsing a proposal linked to extremist circles, amid concerns over legal risks and internal divisions.<\/p>\n Critics, including opposition parties and legal experts, argue the proposal would violate constitutional and international anti-discrimination principles by targeting people based on ethnic background, including naturalized citizens and their descendants.<\/p>\n The controversy comes even as Meloni\u2019s government pursues a parallel policy of expanding legal migration, having approved a multiyear plan to admit hundreds of thousands of non-EU workers to address labor shortages in key economic sectors.<\/p>\n The demonstrations in Rome a day after a new set of European Union rules<\/a> came into effect governing how each of the bloc’s 27 member states will deal with irregular migration and asylum seekers.<\/p>\n The European Migration and Asylum Pact is the culmination of years of grueling negotiations<\/a> that overhauled the previous system, which was widely considered a failure and gave far-right parties a potent issue to win votes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n