Italy’s Interior Minister Roberto Maroni has announced new measures directed at the country’s Roma community. Maroni, a member of the right-wing Northern League, said that police will now enter Roma camps to fingerprint and photograph the inhabitants.

The government claims the the so-called census will reduce the exploitation of children and ensure that those who are legally resident in Italy live in humane conditions.

However, those opposed to the new government’s treatment of Roma communities in Italy say the move is discriminatory as it targets a single ethnic group for special surveillance and security measures.

Rights group Amnesty International and the Anti-Defamation League believe the idea is to scare the Roma into leaving the major cities and prepare the ground for mass deportations.

It is estimated that 150,000 Roma live in the country and 70,000 of them have Italian citzenship.

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