Legal migrants renew fight to get citizenship in Italy

ROME, Aug 25 (AFP): Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, Italy's second generation of immigrants is renewing the fight for automatic citizenship in a land where migration is at the heart of the political debate.

"Jus soli!", the Latin term which literally means "right of soil," or birthright citizenship, has become the new rallying cry among the children of Italy's 5.3 million legal immigrants.

In early June, thousands of demonstrators marched in Rome in memory of African American George Floyd, who died on May 25 when a white policeman kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes, triggering an outcry in the United States and around the world.

The march spurred renewed vigour among the children and grandchildren of migrants in Italy, who share the language and country's cultural references but do not have the right to citizenship until they turn 18.