“Why does xenophobia have to have a negative meaning?” Berlusconi asked in 2002, as he portrayed migrants and non-White populations as threats to Italy’s stability. The Bossi-Fini law his government passed that year allowed for automatic deportation of migrants traveling on boats found in international waters, forced migrants who arrived in Italy into detention centers for up to two months, and made asylum contingent on long-term work and housing contracts. Illegal immigrants became Berlusconi’s main targets
