BU wants to hear from Parliament about the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) following news that the agency is forcing immigrants to pay €400 within ten days on pain of having their regularization cancelled.
In a statement to journalists at the Assembly of the Republic, BE coordinator Mariana Mortagua also accused Chega leader André Ventura of inciting hatred against immigrants, which “leads to violence.”
“What Portugal must do, because it needs immigrants, is to guarantee their regularization in a timely manner. AIMA doesn’t do this, she fails, and asking for 400 euros to do in 10 days what she hasn’t done in two years is unfair. why are we going to demand the presence of AIMA in the Assembly of the Republic so that it can explain this decision that not even the responsible minister knew about,” said the BE coordinator.
We are talking about the news published this Thursday by the Antena 1 channel, which reports that immigrants waiting for processing at AIMA are receiving messages that from now on the agency will be required to pay fees before filing for a certain amount. from 90 to 400 euros, which must be paid within ten days under penalty of cancellation of the regularization procedures.
The BE coordinator noted that AIMA is legally obliged to respond to requests for immigrant regularization within 90 days, but that “processes have been suspended for years” due to “the inability of the Portuguese public services to respond.”
“AIMA sought to solve this problem by clearing waiting lists, requiring immigrants to pay 400 euros within ten days, when in fact AIMA has been unable to respond to requests for regularization for many years,” he criticized, stressing the importance that immigrants in sectors such as agriculture or tourism.
Mariana Mortagua stressed the importance of the integration of these citizens, recalling that less than a week ago several immigrants were attacked in Porto, and expressed strong criticism of Chega leader André Ventura, who today again called for greater controls on the entry of immigrants into Porto. countries and the establishment of quotas.
“Less than a week after this attack, Andre Ventura will come today to carry out a new attack on immigrants, and I will not allow him alone to go on television and lie about immigration in Portugal. When the far right talks about restricting immigration and quotas, he is saying that he wants to reduce the number of legal immigrants in order to increase the number of illegal immigrants so that they can be exploited in every way,” Mortagua criticized.
The bloc’s coordinator accused Chega and the far right of spreading “messages of hatred and spreading fear against immigrants” on social networks, which “leads to violence.”
“Those who like Portugal don’t want crime, they don’t want violence. Portugal needs a lot more to welcome immigrants, it doesn’t need racists or racist policies that encourage hatred and crime,” he said.
In October 2023, the government began to close the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF), transferring its functions to AIMA.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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