BE coordinator Mariana Mortagua this Monday accused the PSD/CDS-PP minority government of encouraging illegal immigration into the country with the new migration plan, criticizing the disappearance of the expression of interests mechanism.
“We are afraid that this plan will actually make the problem worse, because if we eliminate one of the ways to legalize the immigrants who come to us, there will definitely be more illegal immigration,” defended Mariana Mortagua, speaking to journalists at the Lisbon Book Fair . , on the sidelines of the pre-election campaign for the European elections.
The blocker responded to the Migration Action Plan presented today by the PSD/CDS-PP Minority Leader, which calls for the termination of the expression of interest mechanism that allows an immigrant to apply for a residence visa in Portugal.
According to Mariana Mortagua, this disappearance opens a “legal void.”
“By eliminating the expression of interest – and this is a mechanism that has also had problems in its practical application, and these problems also need to be recognized – by eliminating the expression of interest that the government makes, it eliminates the possibility of someone coming to Portugal looking for work and seeking work to be able to resolve the situation,” accused Mariana Mortagua.
In terms of the blockade, “the government states that ‘only those who come from abroad are permanent residents of Portugal’, but those who are already in Portugal or who come to Portugal in search of work will not be able to legalize,” adding, that “this law has already been applied in the past.”
“What’s happening? People arrive in Portugal without documents because the economy needs them (…) and then they have no way to regulate themselves, and from x to x the processes accumulate and require extreme regularization. What the government is doing is this legal void is an incentive for illegal immigration,” he insisted.
The government ended the exceptional regime that allowed a foreigner to enter Portugal before applying for a residence permit, and announced the creation of a mission structure to streamline pending processes, estimated at 400,000 people.
The Migration Action Plan, approved today by the Council of Ministers, calls for “an end to the exceptional regime that now allows entry without rules, eliminating the established expression of interest procedure,” which is considered “an open door and the source of a large proportion of migrants.” Unresolved issues.”
From now on, a foreigner with a tourist visa will no longer be able to regulate his status in Portugal by requiring an employment contract or other solution previously applied in the Portuguese consular network.
Prime Minister Luis Montenegro today rejected any link between immigrants and rising crime but said Portugal has legislation that allows entry abuses.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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