Lisbon, April 15, 2025 (Lusa) - Portugal's largest immigrant association has scheduled a demonstration for the 23rd of April at the Porto office of the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA), to demand that the problems of the communities be included in the political debate. "Our fight has to be intensified, that's why we're extending protest actions to some parts of the country," Timóteo Macedo, president of Immigrant Solidarity, explained to Lusa. "We have to show that we have strength, that we are people, that we want to have our rights recognised and that we want drastic changes" in Portugal's migration policy. In Portugal today, immigrants "continue to work and pay into the social security system, but they are being completely disregarded," he said. He said, the creation of the "green card" for immigrants, which came into force today, "is a favour done to employers" by making the presence of foreigners conditional on employment contracts. Timóteo Macedo said that many immigrants in Portugal could fill labour needs, but companies prefer to "hire people abroad who they don't know, don't know who they are and who then get stuck" with the job. According to the association, the government wants to expel those who are working here, preferring to do the big companies and employers a favour with the so-called “green lane” so that they can get national workers from third countries. Meanwhile, thousands of immigrants already in Portugal are still "scandalously" waiting for their documents, "with their lives on hold and at risk of being expelled". The leader equated the "green route" with "suspicious schemes that will only serve to feed the mafia networks of human trafficking". Last week, more than a hundred Asian immigrants gathered in front of AIMA's headquarters in Lisbon to protest the Portuguese authorities' lack of response and demand equal rights for all. Timóteo Macedo also points out that many immigrants identified as irregular in other European countries are placed on a "Schengen non-admission list" and, therefore, have not received a response from AIMA. According to the association, in Porto alone, there are around 800 Indian immigrants who "can't get documents because their name is on the no-entry list. " At mid-morning on Monday, when the demonstration had already reached around 300 people, the national coordinator of the Left Bloc travelled to the site to show solidarity with the immigrant community and demand answers from the authorities. "These people are here because they came to Portugal in search of a better life and Portugal, which needs these workers and these people, which uses their contributions to pay for their pensions and to help build the country, has not responded to them with the dignity they deserve," said Mariana Mortágua, speaking to journalists. PJA/ADB // ADB. Lusa