--- title: #TheBrief: Who is Responsible for Migrants Who Seek Asylum? | TIME description: Is illegal immigration Italy's problem? Or the European Union's? canonical: https://time.com/video/2ZpUssnf/ og:title: #TheBrief: Who is Responsible for Migrants Who Seek Asylum? og:description: Is illegal immigration Italy's problem? Or the European Union's? og:url: https://time.com/video/2ZpUssnf/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/2ZpUssnf/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: #TheBrief: Who is Responsible for Migrants Who Seek Asylum? twitter:description: Is illegal immigration Italy's problem? Or the European Union's? twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/2ZpUssnf/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # #TheBrief: Who is Responsible for Migrants Who Seek Asylum? > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: #TheBrief: Who is Responsible for Migrants Who Seek Asylum? [Watch (HLS stream): #TheBrief: Who is Responsible for Migrants Who Seek Asylum?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/2ZpUssnf.m3u8) (2:40)  _Published 2015-04-22. Is illegal immigration Italy's problem? Or the European Union's?_ --- Jul 27, 2023 6:11 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [President Trump Signs Order Blocking Asylum Claims for Migrants Who Enter Illegally](/video/MNEqHHdA/) ### President Trump Signs Order Blocking Asylum Claims for Migrants Who Enter Illegally [#TheBrief: Assisted Suicide After the Age of Kevorkian](/video/1W2ZR0Gu/) ### #TheBrief: Assisted Suicide After the Age of Kevorkian [#TheBrief: Watch How the CDC is Changing Its Ebola Protocol](/video/ftEB8sve/) ### #TheBrief: Watch How the CDC is Changing Its Ebola Protocol --- ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] At least 700 refugees are feared dead after their boat capsized off the coast of Libya. How are thousands of people being smuggled into Europe, and what is the European Union doing to prevent such disasters? I'm Bryan Walsh, and this is your Brief. With countries in Europe closing borders to prevent the influx of refugees fleeing war and conflict, Migrants, mostly from Syria and Eritrea, but also from Sub Saharan Africa, are opting for the risky voyage through Libya to Italy. From Italy, they travel to countries like Spain, Greece, and the UK, all in search of asylum and better job opportunities. But it could come at a price. Since the beginning of the year, more than 900 migrants have died at sea. That's ten times the amount that died during the same time period last year, and that's not including the deaths from this past week. They're not numbers. They're not immigrants. They're women and men who have a story, who have families. We may still not know what has happened. The Italian Coast Guard has obtained an unprecedented 10, 000 illegal migrants crossing the Mediterranean in just one week. Up until now, Italy has carried the brunt of the responsibility. European law declares that all refugees should be granted asylum but who is responsible for the asylum seekers? Well some European countries argue that the place in which the migrants land should be the country that's held responsible and most migrants land in Italy. After Spain, Italy's immigrant population is the fastest growing in Europe. But Italy argues that this is not an Italian problem. It's a problem the European Union should be dealing with. Lots of people go to France, Germany, and a lot of people try to go into the U. K. It is a Europe- wide problem that's happening on the Italian doorstep. French President Francois Hollande called for EU intervention. As to the NGO human rights watch, which said the deaths could have been prevented if the EU had launched a genuine search and rescue effort. So why isn't there an EU system set in place to rescue distressed migrant ships? Well there used to be. Until last year when the number of Coast Guard ships were scaled back some countries in the union felt that aggressive search and rescue efforts encouraged people to make the journey across the Mediterranean. But after this latest disaster the EU is changing its strategy. In a statement, the European Commission agreed that they have a moral and humanitarian obligation to act. And it presented a ten- point plan. But critics say the plan is too little, too late. Especially for those who perished before they could find asylum. I'm Brian Walsh, and you've been briefed ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"#TheBrief: Who is Responsible for Migrants Who Seek Asylum?","description":"Is illegal immigration Italy's problem? 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