PS will ask for parliamentary assessment of the government’s migration plan

On Wednesday, the PS announced that it would ask parliament to consider the Migration Action Plan to provide a “transitional regime” for the withdrawal of expressions of interest, allowing specific cases harmed by the measure to be addressed.

“The PS will submit a request for a parliamentary assessment” of the government proposal, said MP Pedro Delgado Alves, stressing that “this is not an intention to return to what already existed”, but rather a “broad reflection on how to guarantee a transition regime” for those does not fully comply with regularization requirements.

And he gave an example of “those who have 11 and a half months of discount,” when the law requires one year.

The goal is not to “simply and simply reverse” the decision to cancel expressions of interest, as this would increase the “conscription effect” of new immigrants, he added during a debate in the Assembly of the Republic.

Chega scheduled a debate on immigration in parliament today and presented several proposals, including the introduction of quotas, restrictions on access to social support, support for voluntary return, subordination of the provision of residence permits to those with an employment contract, or limiting the number of people in one dwelling indoors.

Expressions of interest were a legal resource that existed in Portugal until earlier this month and allowed a foreigner to undergo legalization provided they had 12 months of discounts, even if they entered as a tourist.

The government’s proposal would place the onus on filtering at entry points at Portuguese consulates abroad.

Pedro Delgado Alves also said that the plan is in line with the proposals contained in the government’s transition folder on the topic.

The PS’s contribution was part of the “portfolio of government reforms” that the PSD decided to follow, for example “teaching the Portuguese language, abandoning the quota policy, introducing AIMA [Agência para a Integração, Migrações e asilo] without a police profile” or “providing privileges to the CPLP [Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa]”in the entrances,” said Pedro Delgado Alves, who criticized Chegi’s position on this matter.

“When arguments fail, when humanity fails, there are threats and cries,” but “what unites us is more than what divides us,” except for “the party that seeks to divide,” said Pedro Delgado Alves.

According to the deputy, “there is an opinion that there is a deliberate situation on the part of the PS” to create a migration problem, but this “assessment is unfair,” since “the whole of Europe is faced with the problem of migration.”

Pedro Delgado Alves also rejected the position of Chega, who refused to compare the problems of immigrants in Portugal with the problems of Portuguese emigrants in the 1960s and 1970s.

“Of course, we compare, and it is our duty to compare. They face the same problems: those who emigrate to Portugal are fleeing poverty and poverty and fleeing war,” he said.

In response, Pedro Pinto (Chega) Pedro Pinto stated that “the emigrants were embarrassed by the statements of Pedro Delgado Alves.”

António Rodríguez (PSD) criticized the “failed process of liquidation of the SEF” and the “degradation of the integration system and policies”, but refused to set quotas, although he acknowledged that entries “will be weighed according to the needs of the country.”

“Portugal must open its doors, but not wide open,” and regarding new requests, the government has taken care to establish a method” that will avoid “abusive and systematic use of the mechanism” for expressions of interest.

“The government’s plan is not a closed document, and we are all waiting for input from the parties,” the deputy said, calling on the PS to approve the government’s plan.

PSD parliament leader Hugo Soares criticized Chegi’s speech about immigrants in parliament, especially its president.

“What really sets us apart, what we will never be able to admit, where we will never see ourselves again, is the interference of any party that uses this word to say: “We have no humanity to oppose,” he said Hugo Soares.

In response to the transition proposal, João Almeida (CDS) warned that the PS proposal would create a “call-in effect” for more immigrants to Portugal.

Chega leader Andre Ventura brought to the debate the news of the rape in Beja, allegedly committed by a citizen of Pakistani origin, leading PAN leader Ines Sousa Real to criticize this general accusation against all immigrants.

“How many violations do the good Portuguese commit?” he wondered, considering the accusation to be “disrespectful of women’s status.”

Ruy Tavares from Livre recalled that “immigrants go where the economy is growing and there are jobs,” and when “immigrants come, they help the economy grow.”

Thus, “leaving immigration unchanneled leaves room only for human traffickers, unscrupulous bosses and opportunistic politicians,” he added, defending greater action by the Labor Standards Agency.