Citizen Free Press released video footage of a mob of migrants pushing and fighting their way through the streets of Lampedusa, an extremely small Italian island. It has been reported that boats carrying roughly 6800 migrants approached the shore of the fishing island, with a population of just 6000 residents, on Wednesday.
AP News reported that the migrants were able to evade capture by the coast guards due to the overwhelming amount of them. Chaos ensued as the migrants jumped out of the boats and climbed their way onto the land. One woman lost her baby when her boat, crowded with people, tipped over.
The only migrant residence on the island has a capacity for 450 people, leaving authorities with the obligation to transfer them elsewhere, including the mainland. It is unclear at this point what progress, if any, has been made.
The press and others on social media were quick to criticize Republican Italian President Georgia Meloni, whose campaign relied heavily on her strict stance to combat illegal immigration and secure Italy's coasts.