Italy expels only fraction of foreigners initially announced over Romanian Gypsy case

Leading Italian politicians responded swiftly, decisively _ and controversially _ to the brutal murder of a navy officer's wife allegedly by a Romanian Gypsy: They announced 20,000 foreigners would be expelled from Rome alone.

But in contrast to the headline-grabbing pledges, just 210 foreigners have been ordered expelled from Italy so far under an emergency decree approved Nov. 1.

Across the spectrum, politicians sought to calm public outrage over Giovanna Reggiani's murder with bold deportation proclamations that prompted critics to charge that Italy was leading a witchhunt against foreigners.

Conservative opposition leader Gianfranco Fini has been one of the more strident voices in favor of mass deportations. But the call has also been taken up by Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni, the center-left's choice to succeed Prime Minister Romano Prodi.

Many Italians have been alarmed over a perceived influx of Romanians since the poor eastern European nation entered the European Union on Jan. 1, giving its citizens instant legal entry to Italy.

Romanians have long come to Italy to look for work, largely because they speak a Romance language similar to Italian. A minority are Gypsies who live in ramshackle camps at the edge of major cities _ and their reputation as criminals has spread to the entire Romanian population.

Veltroni said 75 percent of arrests in Rome last year involved Romanians. That was an exaggeration: His office later clarified that Romanians comprised half the foreigners arrested in the capital from January to May this year.

Equally exaggerated appears to have been the number of people Italian leaders said they were prepared to expel.

While politicians have been grabbing the spotlight with promises of ridding Italian cities of street crime, government officials _ led by Interior Minister Giuliano Amato _ have taken a more prudent approach to enforcing the measure.

Amato met Wednesday with law officials carrying out the expulsions and emphasized that mass expulsions would violate European norms, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Amato noted that the measures had already had a deterrent effect, with "numerous voluntary repatriations and less influx."

While the deportation scheme sent shudders throughout Europe and its legality was immediately questioned, EU officials said there are statutes that give Italy the right to declare emergency measures to kick out EU citizens deemed a threat to public safety.

Rather than restore public confidence, the measures have fanned ethnic tensions.

Gypsy camps have been razed and Romanians have been beaten up on the streets. The acclaimed Romanian actress Laura Vasiliu, in Turin to work on a film, said police came to her hotel room to investigate a child trafficking case; they left when they concluded she was not the person they were seeking.

"The situation for Romanians is very tense. Some are afraid to go out on the streets or to work," said Italy's Romanian association president, Eugen Terteleac.

Others, he said, are considering returning to Romania for good.

"It has become a game of numbers," said Oliviero Forti, the immigration expert for the Italian chapter of the Catholic charity Caritas. "The country does have security issues. But we don't believe that a severe intervention like expulsions is a solution."

Amato has urged "targeted expulsions" to avoid abuses.

Of the 210 ordered expulsions, 90 percent have been Romanian citizens, mostly from the cities of Bologna, Naples, Rome and Genoa, according to Interior Ministry figures on Tuesday. Most have already left the country but about 30 were being held in temporary centers pending deportation.

The decree does not carry specific criteria on what constitutes a threat and it is up to local police to make the call. Most of those rounded up have been repeat and violent offenders.

Romanians comprise one of Italy's largest ethnic groups, with 560,000 registered officially, or about 1 percent of the population.

The association of Romanians in Italy says the actual number of Romanians is closer to 1.5 million, not including Romanian Gypsies. That takes into account those who entered the country illegally, working off the books as caretakers, house cleaners or janitors.

Italy's Romanian immigrants are generally highly educated _ with nearly two-thirds holding a high school or university diploma compared with one-third of Italians, according to Caritas.

Terteleac dismissed the idea there has been an influx of Romanians since EU entry, saying the number has remained steady.

"Since Jan. 1, many feel free to go back and forth to Romania, since they no longer need a visa," he said.

But that newfound freedom evaporated with the expulsions.

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Associated Press correspondent Marta Falconi contributed to this report from Rome.