During a visit to the Feira das Cantarinhas in Bragança on the first official day of the campaign, the AD delegation paused for a coffee break, where Luís Montenegro was asked about the government’s announcement that the Agency for Integration, Migration, and Asylum (AIMA) will begin notifying 4,574 foreign citizens next week to voluntarily leave the country within 20 days.
“Things are not happening because there are elections. Things are happening because the process started in June of last year. It was not accelerated now. It was not accelerated at all,” he assured, adding that “the process must run and cannot stop” due to the snap legislative elections on May 18.
On this topic, Montenegro noted that the government initially created a mission structure and support centers, multiplying “AIMA’s service capacity by seven.”
“We have over 450 collaborators across the country, more than 500 lawyers involved in this operation. The operation we are currently executing is very, very significant. We are recovering and processing over 400,000 cases,” he highlighted.
In response to PS’s criticism of a ‘Trumpization’ of the AD campaign, Montenegro said he did not want to comment “on what others say,” but eventually replied.
“There is a problem with the opposition in Portugal at this moment: they are very focused only on criticizing the government. I have been in opposition, and sometimes I spoke well of the government; I also acknowledged the things the government did well. And I think voters like that, they like someone who is in opposition and still recognizes that it is necessary to work in the same direction,” he stated.
The Secretary-General of the PS said today that the leader of the Democratic Alliance (AD) is more concerned with aligning with Chega regarding the immigrants notified to leave the country and mentioned a “Trumpization” of Luís Montenegro.
Lusa | 12:04 – 04/05/2025
Further discussing immigration, the prime ministerial candidate suggested that it will be possible to achieve “a good balance between all those who are born, grow, and live in Portugal and those who come here to work.”
“At this moment, the government has information that about 18,000 of the pending cases do not meet the conditions for approval, and 4,500 of which already have a decision,” he stated, adding that after notifications, people have the opportunity to appeal, or there may be cases where the state cannot even contact them.
“This is not about forcibly removing someone; it is about notifying the person, and the person can appeal. If they cannot meet the requirements, they must leave,” he assured.
Asked whether AIMA would have the capacity for this operation, Montenegro reiterated that the agency has enhanced resources but reminded everyone of the government’s plan.
“Our project is that this specific competence will be with the PSP, with a new Foreigners and Borders Unit, and also with the competence to conduct return processes. Unfortunately, as you know, the parliament did not approve these two measures because PS and Chega voted against them,” he explained.
Therefore, he assured that if the PSD and CDS-PP win the elections, they will once again attempt to pass these bills, hoping to have “enough support” in Parliament.
“We do not want to treat people poorly. People who do not have conditions, who do not meet the requirements to stay here, must calmly return to their countries of origin,” he stated.
[News updated at 12:29]
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