“People are not fooled by electioneering. Chega was alone for practically a year in parliament, arguing for the need to control immigration, stating that we were reaching unsustainable numbers for the country,” asserted André Ventura, leader of Chega, speaking to journalists at the Ovibeja agricultural fair currently taking place in Beja.
André Ventura remarked that “the PSD did not accept this,” and thwarted his party’s proposals such as introducing quotas on immigrant entries or conducting a referendum. “But now, two weeks before the elections, they claim Chega was right all along,” he said.
“Talking about this now is a bad joke, an unpleasant case of electioneering, but above all, it’s mocking a serious issue. I believe people are not fooled anymore, and on the 18th, they will know that there was only one party and one leader who genuinely wanted to control immigration. This control is not against immigrants but rather a regulated approach that helps the country without destroying it. And they know that politician is me, not Luís Montenegro,” he declared.
The Chega leader criticized the government, claiming “it’s evident how much the government is joking about the immigration situation.” He stated that the government “did not want to control, did not want to supervise, did not want to recover what had been done by the PS, the extinction of the SEF, and now, 20 days before the elections, they announce something absurd, knowing it should have been done long ago, and with much more force.”
“We have a process of regularizing half a million immigrants, including 120,000 whose criminal records were not verified when they entered. The government has done nothing about this, and now, 18 or 20 days before the elections, they announce that 18,000 immigrants will be notified in the coming weeks to leave the country,” he criticized.
“We should be expelling everyone whose criminal records we have not verified and everyone who entered Portugal illegally,” he contended, emphasizing that Portugal needs a “border policy.”
Ventura stressed the need for “seriously controlling borders and immigration,” and accused the PS and PSD of merely engaging in “a mockery of control.”
“There is much to be done, and we will do it,” he promised.
Confirming today, the Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, stated that the Agency for Integration, Migrations and Asylum (AIMA) will start notifying 4,574 foreign citizens next week to voluntarily leave the country within 20 days.
The minister also accused the PS and Chega of rejecting proposals that would allow for accelerating processes of coercive removal.
In response, the president of Chega retorted that “this must be a joke.”
“Chega proposed to PSD the approval of a foreign regime, effectively ending short-duration residence visas, for instance, which are problematic. Currently, anyone can enter, claim to be seeking work, especially concerning the CPLP, and then stay and regularize their status. This situation acts as a magnet for illegal immigration. Did the PSD want to change this? No,” he claimed.
[News updated at 7:05 PM]
