Livre, PCP, and Bloco de Esquerda have expressed total opposition to the Government’s proposals to amend laws on immigration and nationality access, criticizing them as a social setback, unjust, and constitutionally dubious.
The reactions to the measures approved by the Government on Monday, during the Council of Ministers, were conveyed in parliament by Livre’s deputy Paulo Muacho, PCP’s parliamentary leader Paula Santos, and Bloco de Esquerda’s coordinator Mariana Mortágua.
Both Paula Santos and Paulo Muacho indicated that their parliamentary groups might help secure one-fifth of the deputies needed to appeal to the Constitutional Court for successive scrutiny of the legislative changes proposed by the PSD/CDS executive, notably concerning nationality loss.
“From our perspective, there is a risk of unconstitutionality, particularly when stating that someone convicted of a crime is perpetually barred from acquiring Portuguese nationality,” stated the Livre representative, a view also shared by the communist leader.
According to Article 30 of the Constitution of the Republic, “no penalty shall entail, as a necessary effect, the loss of any civil, professional, or political rights.”
Before the journalists, Paulo Muacho accused the Government of creating “a bureaucratic maze to make it as difficult as possible” for immigrants to regularize their status, which, in his view, could lead to “quite serious and dramatic situations.”
Regarding family reunification, according to Paulo Muacho, the Government aims to “limit families’ ability to be together” and described as “absolutely shameful that individuals with a ‘golden visa’ are exempted from these rules.”
“This Government and the far-right in Portugal speak a lot about immigration and nationality access, but it was PSD and CDS that approved in the country a regime of selling nationality, which is the ‘golden visa’ regime,” he accused.
Paulo Muacho also mentioned that the measures approved by the Government are “contradictory” with the statements of the Economy and Territorial Cohesion Minister, Castro Almeida, who said the country still needs immigration, especially to implement PRR (Recovery and Resilience Plan) projects.
Meanwhile, Paula Santos accused the PSD/CDS executive of “greatly contributing to fueling the discourse of hatred and division in Portuguese society.”
“This clearly shows the political options of the Government and what unites PSD, CDS, and Chega. We are facing changes that represent a negative evolution in terms of human rights, significantly leaving immigrants in a situation of greater vulnerability and fragility,” argued the PCP parliamentary leader.
Paula Santos stated that if implemented, the Government’s announced measures “introduce more difficulties for immigrants who, if their situation is not regularized, will become much more vulnerable, including to falling into mafias and trafficking networks.”
“It is also unacceptable to categorize immigrants where some have rights and others do not—this is also another element contributing to illegal immigration and labor trafficking. There are double standards here,” she pointed out, referring to the ‘golden visa’ regime.
“Therefore, we are facing changes that are negative and constitute a setback,” concluded Paula Santos.
The Bloco de Esquerda deputy, Mariana Mortágua, remarked that “the reform the Government presents for immigration is inhumane, hypocritical, and opportunistic.”
“It is inhumane because it prevents families from reuniting, disrespecting international law. It is hypocritical because the demands placed on those who wish to reside and have Portuguese nationality, if applied to all Portuguese, would likely not be met. We cannot demand from others what we do not demand from those who already have nationality,” she stated.
According to Mariana Mortágua, the measures announced on Monday by the Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, “are opportunistic because a Government that has no principles, no values, that believes in nothing, which once said family reunification was an important measure of humanism and immigrant integration, now prevents that reunification.”
“Someone who believes in nothing is dangerous. And that is the case of Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, who is willing to concede to the far-right discourse, adopting Chega’s measures in the name of an electoral dispute,” she added.
