Minister Leitão Amaro makes first assessment of the 400 thousand pending applications. The government will propose to companies that will be responsible for the accommodation and training of new immigrants.
The Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, reveals that AIMA is assisting 5,000 immigrants per day and that the State's response has accelerated in recent months. More than half of the 400,000 pending cases have already been dealt with, he explains in an interview with the Hora da Verdade program, on Renascença and the Público newspaper.
Regarding Luís Montenegro's controversial press conference on security, the Minister of the Presidency responded that "whoever does not understand the priority that this government and this Prime Minister give to security, has not understood the country or the people we have".
In this interview, Leitão Amaro also warns that the economic situation in 2025 may deteriorate and admits that this may jeopardize the extra bonus for pensioners. “We have to look at all phenomena and know that they may have consequences on our lives,” admits the minister.
In June, there were 400,000 pending immigration regularization processes. How many are there now?
There has been a huge increase in the State's response capacity. We are talking about 400,000 pending cases, the result of a very heavy legacy of a lack of immigration policy or of deeply flawed choices, such as the wide-open door and the dismantling of the SEF, which left the State paralyzed.
In six months, the State has increased its service capacity sixfold. The State used to serve 800 immigrants or people who sought AIMA per day. At the moment, the State is serving 5,000 per day. What does this result in? The mission structure has already served 113,000 people, who are currently undergoing regularization processes.
At the same time, we are already moving forward with the notification for the rejection of 108,000. In six months, 113,000 plus 108,000. In addition to AIMA's continued capacity to handle other cases, other renewal processes, authorizations, other titles, other than expressions of interest.
This is very important for foreign citizens who were here in an undignified situation, because they had no papers, access to housing and access to the job market was deeply compromised, therefore, their lives were on hold, but it is also very important for the Portuguese.
I remember a phrase by António Vitorino when he acknowledged that this very rapid increase in immigration has generated a perception and a feeling of unease. By dealing with these 400,000 pending cases, we come to know who these 400,000 are, where they are, and what they are doing. This reinforces the security and peace of mind of the Portuguese people, which is very important.
But this is making a direct connection between security and immigration.
No, no, no. I am not making any association, nor am I going to engage in that kind of approach. This Government's stance is new, it is not caught up in radicalism, nor in the idea that immigration policies cannot be improved or questioned and that controls cannot be strengthened, nor is it caught up in the discourse of closed doors, rejection and fear.
There is no association, and I will repeat here, between this increase in immigration and crime levels. Secondly, there is no extractive relationship between immigrants and social security, on the contrary. In 2023, foreign citizens contributed 2.6 billion euros to social security and received benefits of 400 million.
According to the calculations you made, there are still 180,000 immigrants to regularize. How many months will it take for this number to be normalized?
We have created a one-year issuance structure to increase the State's response capacity. We are maintaining the time horizons we had, trying to do this within a year, that is, next summer.
António Vitorino said he had doubts about the number of 400,000 because many of the people who had expressed interest were no longer in Portugal.
António Vitorino's prediction is very accurate. There were people who waited seven years and got tired of waiting and left.
So, can you get to the end of the process and there won't be 400,000?
Probably not.
And since the law was changed and the expression of interest ended, does the Government know how many applications have been received?
I know that there has been an 80% reduction in applications for residence permits.
António Vitorino called on the Government to be bold and said that the legislation it has passed is still not enough. He gave the example of Germany, which invests in vocational training programmes in the countries of origin of immigrants. Could this be an option that the Portuguese Government could adopt?
Portugal needs immigration, particularly for work. Regarding integration and attracting immigrants to work, we have always said this since day one. This is, in fact, at a very advanced stage. There will be meetings next week with employers' confederations to regulate a migration regime, maintaining the laws we have in place. It will be a procedural regime that allows for rapid processing, but with effective control and joint responsibility of the employer for regular labour migration, which involves the so-called dimensions of ethical recruitment. In other words, with employers being responsible not only for having an employment relationship, but also for dignified housing conditions and vocational training.
Are there any figures on the number of homeless immigrants in Portugal?
There are some counts, I believe, from 2022, but then the previous government somewhat neglected the National Strategy for combating the situation of homeless people. I don't think there is a specific number.
But isn't the Government working closely with the Mayor of Lisbon, particularly on this issue of homelessness and immigrants?
The Government is working with all the mayors where the phenomenon is most relevant and statistics show that the Lisbon metropolitan area has half of the homeless situations in the country and Lisbon has half of the situations in the Lisbon metropolitan area.
The Prime Minister gave a press conference on security last Wednesday. Didn't he send a mixed message about the country's security problems? In other words, was the statement announced for 8 p.m. justified, since it is usually a time for extremely serious statements to be made to the country, since they are rare?
Anyone who criticises our concern for security does not understand the country they live in or the feelings of our people. There are reasons, both in the case of immigration and in the case of security, reasons in fact, and then reasons, to use António Vitorino's expression, of legitimate uneasiness in the communities that justify a government that is present, leading and informs the country of the measures it is taking.
Therefore, we are fully convinced that the country needs and the Portuguese people not only understand, but want a government that takes security as one of its fundamental concerns.
Marques Mendes, a commentator for the PSD and a potential presidential candidate with the support of the PSD, was one of the people who said that it was disproportionate.
I am not going to respond to anyone specifically. Anyone who does not understand the priority that this government and this prime minister give to security has not fully understood the country or the people we have.
Could Operation Portugal Sempre Seguro, which the Prime Minister reviewed at his press conference, be extended beyond the middle of this month, which is what is planned? Could there be a second phase of this operation?
Not immediately, because it was deliberately designed not to coincide with other security operations, such as Christmas and New Year. Security policy is organised under the leadership and strategic guidance of the government, but under the operational direction of the security forces.
This is an assessment that we are making with the security forces. The Portuguese people can be sure that whenever there is a need for campaigns or operations targeting certain types of crime, or combinations of certain types of crime, the government and the security forces, side by side, each with their own responsibilities, which are separate, and the operational autonomy of the security forces and their leaders is not in the least bit called into question, will plan and decide on the specific actions that are necessary to ensure that the country has high levels of security, continues to be one of the safest countries in the world, and that existing phenomena, where crime shows signs of worsening, are combated. These campaigns have an undeniably important function in security policy, which is the preventive function.
Is the Minister of Internal Affairs, Margarida Blasco, really in a position to continue or is she the weakest link in this government?
I regret that this government is disappointing those who are nostalgic for the cases and little affairs, of a government that is constantly resigning and reshuffling. That is what happened with the Socialist government, despite its absolute majority. See how a government with a much smaller majority is much more stable than a government with an absolute majority of the PS.
In the particular case of the Internal Administration, we had a historic agreement with the security forces for an unprecedented appreciation.
Why did the government make a statement to the country at eight o'clock in the evening about Operation Portugal Sempre Seguro and not about the riots in Greater Lisbon or the failings of the National Emergency Medical Service?
The Prime Minister held a meeting with leaders, politicians and the forces and at the end of that meeting he presented conclusions to the country. The riots also involved regrettable events such as the attack on a bus driver. All that destruction is regrettable and, therefore, although the riots ended relatively quickly, what happened in between is reprehensible and cannot be repeated.
The same thing with the escape of prisoners. I heard in those days that they would never be captured. The two who were Portuguese were captured.
Our priority is to resolve very serious problems that occur in other areas, including the calamitous state in which we find INEM.
Do you think that INEM's failures did not cause people to feel uneasy?
I have no doubt that when a state service fails, especially in an emergency situation, people feel uneasy.
The Prime Minister promised on November 14 that changes would be made to the National Institute of Emergency Medicine (INEM) "very soon". Three weeks have already passed.
And there have already been several.
Has the announced re-founding of INEM already taken place? What has happened is an increase in ambulances for the winter period.
And the hiring of 200 technicians. These things take time.
In May, the person that the Government invited to work at INEM had made a diagnosis and the investment needs, and the Minister said that there was no financial availability for that, and the person backed down and did not accept the position. Therefore, at that time, the Government already had all the data in its possession and thought that there was no problem at INEM.
The Government never thought that there was no problem at INEM, quite the opposite, for some reason, among other things, we had to organize a new contract for helicopters.
So why didn't Vítor Almeida become head of INEM?
Because he didn't want to. Period.
He came to say that the Government was unable to ensure the necessary financial and technological conditions.
Out of respect for the person, I will just say this: because the person did not want to. Period. I will not present any further justifications.
After several measures approved by the opposition, is the 2025 State Budget executable in the goals set by this government?
It is clear that there is co-authorship and, therefore, joint responsibility of the two opposition parties, the PS and Chega, for measures involving around one billion euros of budget expenditure, a large part of what is called free, discretionary expenditure, was ceded by the PS and Chega together.
This deviation, this political appropriation of part of the budget, makes these two parties jointly responsible and, obviously, makes the budget quite different from what a budget drawn up by the Government alone would be.
Even so, this is a budget that we identify with and in which we believe it is possible to achieve a paradigm shift in the management of public finances.
This State Budget maintains a slight budget surplus that has been compressed by the opposition's measures. The opposition's intervention has increased the risks to implementation. There is no doubt about that.
The Prime Minister said on Tuesday that he was concerned about the political crisis in Germany and France, and its economic and financial repercussions. Could this jeopardise the 2.1% growth rate for 2025?
If two of our main economic partners are in a political process that generates uncertainty about the economy, it is clear that there is an impact. And therefore also on the performance...
Could this also jeopardize the pensioners' bonus for 2025?
All of us Portuguese, from the youngest to the oldest, from the irresponsible citizen to a government official, have to look at all phenomena and know that they can have consequences on our lives.
Could Pedro Santana Lopes override Marques Mendes for the 2026 presidential elections?
I have nothing to say about the presidential elections other than to reiterate the strategic option that there are PSD members with great capabilities to be able to perform the role of President of the Republic, with very different profiles, as different as the last two.
When asked about Gouveia e Melo, Luís Montenegro said that he has every right to run. What is his view of this candidacy of a military man who, even within the Armed Forces, is being criticized?
I agree with the Prime Minister and have nothing to add.