Former minister Ana Catarina Mendez argues that AIMA must be given time

Former Deputy Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ana Catarina Mendes believes that the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) needs to be given time to establish itself and test solutions to solve problems.

The delay in the legalization of migrants has been criticized by several associations, and on Monday Ombudsman Ana Lucia Amaral also drew attention to the time taken by the processes of legalization of migrants, especially after the disappearance of the Foreigners and Borders program. Service (SEF).

In an opinion piece published Tuesday in the newspaper Público, Ana Catarina Mendes, who oversaw the agency, stressed that six months after taking office, AIMA had “already done a lot” but needed to “give it time.”

He argues that it is necessary to “give time to complete the installation of AIMA, which will allow us to conveniently test the solutions that AIMA can offer to solve these problems, more wisely than going back, undoing what has been done from the beginning.” to scratch” .

“Yes, AIMA has not done everything, there is still a lot to be done, because what we wanted was much more than just a change in procedures and administrative issues: what we wanted (and what is desired) is a paradigm shift “, – he said. .

The PS MP states that: “the transition comes at a time when immigration in Portugal is increasing and becoming more complex and public administration will face a strong increase in demand, regardless of whether these administrative issues will be handled by the former SEF. or the newly created AIMA.”

In the article, Ana Catarina Mendes also emphasizes that “the legacy was heavy”: “almost 400 thousand unresolved issues that some are hiding in the name of their regressive agenda.”

“To call political incompetence the desire for a different vision, when AIMA is the expression of a country open to the world, will be left to the discretion of the one who says so,” he stressed.

The former minister stresses the importance of working towards “the goal of regular, orderly and safe migration flows” and states that “it does not begin and end with AIMA in her hands.”

“To adapt Portugal’s attitude towards immigrants, it is also necessary to issue visas and residence permits, reducing their complexity, time frames and procedures. It is necessary to simplify and shorten the procedures for renewing a residence permit. It is necessary to adapt the consular network to this new reality,” he emphasized.

According to Ana Catarina Méndez, “making and undoing public policies without testing and evaluating them often hinders the good governance of a country.”

In an interview published on Monday by Radio Renacensa, Ombudsman Ana Lucia Amaral also drew attention to how long the process of legalizing migrants takes, especially after the closure of the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF), and acknowledged this. that “things are not going very well.”

Things “are not going very well because people who come in need to have a residence permit and it takes a long time to get one, things are not going well because the residence permit has an expiration date and it needs to be renewed, and the renewal of the residence permit is It’s another nightmare,” he said.

Maria Lucia Amaral recalled that these processes already took time when the SEF was in charge, and that now that the competence is “distributed among several organizations”, the “maximum challenge” is to be able to coordinate the entire process.

“When dysfunction of this kind occurs in the public authorities of a state, which puts a large number of people in an unstable position in limbo, all types of shady businesses flourish or tend to flourish,” says Maria Lucia Amaral, referring to “the networks that use the vulnerability of these people, for example, to fill the queues in front of the Portuguese authorities, on whom the legalization of people depends.”