Lisbon, Oct. 11, 2024 (Lusa) - The Portuguese government on Friday expressed its openness to changing or adjusting the draft bill that creates the foreigners and borders unit in the Public Security Police (PSP), changes the system for deporting foreigners and regulates the new entry and exit system at borders.

"We're very open to finding a solution that works at the specialised committee stage debate, adjusting or changing this authorisation," said the Cabinet office minister at the presentation of the government's proposal in parliament, in a debate that was marked by criticism of the new PSP unit, dubbed a "mini SEF" (foreigners and borders service which was abolished by the previous government) by some opposition parties, and the end of expressions of interest (under which immigrants could enter the country on a tourist visa and prolong their stay by expressing an interest in looking for work).

This government bill, which creates the National Foreigners and Borders Unit within the Public Security Police, changes the return regime and regulates the new entry and exit system to strengthen control of external borders, will now be discussed on a specialised basis in parliamentary committee, having been sent back to the committee stage without a vote.

During the debate, António Leitão Amaro asked the MPs: "Do you or do you not want a more favourable entry regime for citizens of the CPLP [Community of Portuguese Language Countries], should Portuguese-speaking citizens be treated differently from other immigrants while still complying with the rules, if so support this law".

This proposal establishes the entry into the Portuguese legal system of the Entry/Exit System (SES), an automated computerised system for registering the entry and exit of citizens outside the Schengen area.

With regard to this external border control system, Leitão Amaro said that Portugal is investing €25 million and is "obliged by European commitments to have this biometric data register".

"We need this law to comply with European obligations so that on 10 November we won't be outside the Schengen area," he said, stressing that this law will mean "having a system that carries out effective controls".

The minister said that previously immigrants "were not received humanely" and "Portugal had an uncontrolled immigration situation".

Regarding the end of expressions of interest, which allowed for the legalisation of foreigners who arrived in Portugal on tourist visas and started working, Leitão Amaro stressed: "There was clearly discussion and division about ending the expression of interest."

"I still don't think it made sense to have a regime that turned illegal entry into legal entry through the passage of time and a payment and that allowed it before, but no longer does, and that's over."

 In response to the leader of the right-wing Chega Party, André Ventura, he clarified that the tourist visa, which allowed those who paid to obtain a residence permit after a year, has also ended.

In defence of the government's proposal, the minister stressed that immigration "must be regulated, with effective entry rules, with adequate public forces and means".

"In Portugal we need immigrants, but we need order and rules so that we can receive them humanely," he said, considering that "the policies practised over the last seven years have created a problem and brought disorder to immigration" in which "the door has been opened wide with expressions of interest".

Pedro Delgado Alves, from the Socialist Party (PS), pointed out that he "disagrees with the solutions presented" in this proposal, considering that there is a "risk of returning to stigmatisation" and that "it doesn't solve some problems".

The Socialist MP asked about this new PSP unit and the lack of staff, and also admitted that this legislative amendment "is unconstitutional".

This new unit to be created in the PSP will assume "responsibilities for controlling air borders, inspecting and monitoring the stay and activity of foreigners in national territory, deciding on and carrying out deportation procedures, managing temporary settlements and similar spaces, as well as airport and border security".

Regarding this new unit, Chega leader André Ventura said that "there will be police officers doing the same job that SEF used to do, on condition that they earn much less than SEF inspectors used to".

Fabian Figueiredo, from the Left Bloc (BE), said that the government had presented "the wrong PSP unit today", emphasising: "Resurrecting a police force of foreigners is the wrong idea, it's discriminatory, it creates mistrust and makes immigrants out to be a threat to security, when they're not".

António Filipe, from the Communist Party (PCP), also considered that this proposal "recreates the SEF within the PSP", without understanding how it will work and how it will coordinate with the existing Borders and Foreigners Coordination Unit within the Internal Security System.

Livre MP Paulo Muacho argued that the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) "isn't working" and the government "instead of giving AIMA resources, it's creating a new PSP unit", which also "doesn't have the resources", emphasising that "this mini SEF will create problems".

CMP/AYLS // AYLS

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