The Italian Interior Under-secretary, Mr Massimo Brutti, has defended his proposal to fingerprint all non-EU immigrants by suggesting an EU meeting of justice and interior ministers next week will come up with similar measures.
Mr Brutti's proposal, made last weekend, prompted bitter controversy in his centre-left government coalition with colleagues such as Equal Opportunities Minister, Ms Katia Bellilo, arguing that it represented a violation of fundamental democratic freedoms.
Centre-right figures such as Northern League leader, Mr Umberto Bossi, however, claimed the measure did not go far enough since immigrants should not be "tracked" but rather "expelled".
Mr Brutti argues that his proposal would help with Italy's illegal immigration problem. With a 7,600 kilometre coastline, Italy has become an easy entry point to western Europe for illegal immigrants from eastern Europe and north Africa.
In the first four months of this year, more than 20,000 illegal immigrants, arriving mainly on the coasts of Puglia, Calabria and Sicily, were apprehended and expelled.
Experts estimate 300,000 illegal immigrants enter Italy each year, with a majority of them headed for northern European countries. Interior Ministry figures also indicate there are 1.1 million legal non-EU residents in Italy.
Immigration, legal or illegal, has become a campaign issue in the run-up to next spring's Italian general election, with the centre-right urging tough measures, such as stricter immigration quotas and stiffer prison sentences for those who smuggle in "boat people".
Many Italians link the current surge in immigration to a security crisis on the streets, pointing to connections between illegal immigrants and crime, such as drug trafficking and prostitution. Illustrating the point was an incident in Turin at the weekend when six people were injured in a shoot-out at a night-club after a group of Albanians who had been thrown out of the bar returned and opened fire. Mr Brutti argues his fingerprint proposal would be in the interests of "honest" immigrants, adding that his EU colleagues may well come up with a similar proposal next week.