“There is agreement and goodwill both from the federal authorities and the cantons to achieve solutions. But we need time,” she told journalists.
She added that it is not always easy to get suitable housing and to convince the local population which is concerned about possible tensions or cases of petty crime.
Her comments come ahead of further discussions with cantonal authorities.
Under pressure from several political parties and the cantons, the justice ministry earlier this year called for the provision of accommodation for up to 2,000 people amid an expected influx of asylum seekers particularly from north Africa.
Sommaruga defended her plans to grant asylum seekers increased legal protection as part of efforts to speed up the asylum procedure.
She dismissed criticism that her proposal was contradictory and pleaded for a fair procedure under the rule of law.
Sommaruga reiterated that the European asylum agreement known as the Dublin accord, was working well – including with Italy -, but added that the application of the rules in individual cases was taking time.
An opinion poll published on Friday found that immigration and asylum issues are the main concern of Swiss citizens.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
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Switzerland “not facing asylum crisis”
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So far, more than 8,000 people have come in 2011. In May there were 2,254 applications, many of them from North Africa, according to the Federal Migration Office. The Swiss authorities are looking for ways to cope with the influx of people desperate for a better life. Last week, the justice and police directors of…
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The report, published on Tuesday, serves as blueprint for the government’s bill to parliament, but the rightwing Swiss People’s Party is adamant that only its proposal is true to the intentions of the initiative. Of the four proposals drafted by the seven-member group of experts, only three won a majority, while the hardline proposal was…
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Swiss Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga, tells swissinfo.ch that she wants to simplify and speed up the asylum process, while ensuring that it remains fair. There is a real dilemma: in the world as a whole, tens of millions of people are in flight from persecution, violence and disaster, but no one wants to take them…
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His moving images of refugees turn our attention to a problem becoming ever more noticeable in Switzerland. Over several months, Pulawski documented the hardships of newly-arrived asylum seekers arriving at the Italian-speaking border town of Chiasso from Italy.
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