Montenegro wants to prioritize regulation and family grouping in immigration policy
Prime Minister highlighted the reinforcement of regulatory support services.
The Prime Minister stated this Wednesday that the Portuguese Government's main objective is to prioritize regulation and family reunification in immigration policy, considering that family unity favors subsequent social integration in national territory.
This position was expressed by Luís Montenegro in the Assembly of the Republic, in the final part of his second speech in the preparatory debate for the European Council, in response to questions raised by deputies Ricardo Carvalho (PSD) and Ricardo Dias Pinto (Chega) on immigration. The latter even went as far as to say that the line followed by the current PSD/CDS-PP executive was "a kind of socialist policy with a carnival mask covering its face".
The Prime Minister rejected this idea and countered that the current Government's immigration policy is characterized by "balance".
"It really is a balance, the doors are neither wide open nor closed," he said, then highlighting the aspects of regulation and integration.
"Within the scope of the European Union, we advocate that family grouping be strengthened and go further. On Portugal's part, we favour the immigration of entire families so that they can settle in Portugal and so that they can have members of their household in active life, some working and others studying in our schools", he said.
Family grouping, according to the executive leader, allows for "full integration".
"It allows them to acquire our culture, acquire knowledge of our language, acquire what will be the basis for qualifying themselves and being at the service of our community in the future," he added.
Regarding the regulatory aspect, Luís Montenegro highlighted data previously provided by his Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro.
"Since we ended the instrument of expression of interest, the number of requests has decreased by 80% compared to the previous situation. Not forgetting all the processes, of which there were around 400 thousand pending [at the end of the previous socialist government], we have already reinforced the capacity of the services", he maintained.
According to the Prime Minister, daily visits have increased from one thousand to the current 2,500.
"The objective is to promote good integration, a good welcome, the dignification of people who come to help Portugal, which is how we see them", he declared, before warning of the dangers and the importance of combating international human trafficking networks.
"Regulation promotes the dignity of people and also promotes the alignment between the professional activities that are sought after in our job market and the needs of our economy. We will continue to act in exactly this way," he stressed.
On 30 September, also in parliament, during the AD Parliamentary Conference, the Minister of the Presidency argued this Wednesday that, since the end of the expression of interest, the number of requests for immigrant residence in Portugal has fallen by around 80%. And he accused the left of "still not having understood the mistake" it made.
Leitão Amaro argued that the Government is seeking to implement "a moderate alternative", aware that "Portugal needs immigrant workers and needs those who may truly be fleeing situations of humanitarian aggression".
"At the same time, we needed to close some of the open-door measures and so we immediately made, just a few weeks into our role, the most difficult decision, which was to close that gigantic gate called expressions of interest. To give you an idea, since we made that decision, the number of residency applications has fallen by around 80%," he added.