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ROME, July 7-- Italian President Sergio Mattarella said this week it was "irresponsible" for the new Italian government to let its strict anti-migrant policies put the European Union's open border laws at risk, adding his voice to a growing chorus of public figures opposed to the measures. "Freedom of movement for Italians," Mattarella said on a state visit to Estonia, "is an irrevocable fact." Only five weeks after it was installed, the new Italian government is so far probably best known for its strict policies on asylum seekers. The country has refused to let non-Italian rescue ships dock in its harbors, and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has pressured other European Union leaders to toughen their laws on migration. Matteo Salvini, one of two deputy prime ministers and the country's minister of the interior, has threatened to kick out as many as half a million migrants already living in Italy. Polls show a growing minority of Italians support tougher policies on migrants, who pollsters say are frequently blamed for rising crime rates, violence, and increasing government expenditures. But the rigorous policies Conte and Salvini have pushed for are also drawing criticism from across the spectrum in Italy, among them athletes, actors, intellectuals, and political leaders. "DORMANT CONSCIENCE" "I think it is time for Italy to wake up and become more open to people from outside, following the example of France or England," said Mario Balotelli, one of the best-known players on Italy's national soccer team. Balotelli is himself the child of migrants from Ghana. | 
