The position was communicated to journalists by Deputy Paulo Muacho at the Assembly of the Republic, following the approval of the new version of the law with votes against from PS, Livre, PCP, BE, and PAN.
“We believe that the President of the Republic, upon receiving this decree, and we make this appeal, should refer it back to the Constitutional Court, so that there are no doubts regarding the constitutionality of this legislation and we can have legal security regarding the norms governing this area in our country,” stated the Livre deputy.
Paulo Muacho noted that Livre maintains “the same doubts” it had concerning the previous version of the legal regime concerning entry, stay, exit, and removal of foreign citizens from Portuguese territory, which was rejected in August by the Constitutional Court following a preventive review request from President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
According to the deputy, “the version approved now is better than the original version, precisely because the Constitutional Court ruled several norms unconstitutional,” but it “falls far short” of what Livre supports.
“What happened in many cases was the alteration of deadlines for applying for family reunification. Having been previously rejected by the Constitutional Court, we believe the President should resubmit them,” he argued, contending that “the President has followed this principle in many other cases.”
The Livre deputy criticized the legislative process in parliament, “without any hearings, without any consultations, not even the essential ones were conducted,” emphasizing that “this review also followed the same criteria.”
“The Government tries to convince us, and tried in the debate, that this was a proposal of moderation and common sense, but we can clearly see that this is just a narrative, as the partner chosen to approve this law was Chega, which today used the debate to launch fierce attacks on the Constitutional Court,” he pointed out.
Livre supports an immigration policy that “keeps open the opportunities that can be created, opportunities for economic growth, for integration,” with the necessary means to “ensure that people have their documentation and follow the regular immigration channels,” said Paulo Muacho.
“When we close the regular immigration channels in a situation where the economy still needs labor, what will happen is what we know happens in all countries worldwide: people will continue to arrive and will be in informality, in irregularity, and therefore will be unprotected,” he anticipated.
