“The distinction between administrative functions in the border governance system and police functions is healthy, fair, and right. We will maintain it, but what happened was a long period of ambiguity in police functions in this domain,” stated Maria Lúcia Amaral in parliament while presenting the Government’s proposal for the creation of the National Unit for Foreigners and Borders (UNEF) in the PSP.
The minister emphasized that “this period must end, and the police functions in the border governance system must be clarified so that domestic law can be duly adhered to and European commitments respected.”
After a similar diploma was rejected by PS and Chega in the last legislature, the minister today urged lawmakers to ensure the new proposal “receives support and speedy implementation.”
During a debate where most opposition parties requested additional resources for the Public Security Police, the official did not respond directly, instead referring to statements made during the Government’s program presentation in parliament and asserting that “this year and next, there will be a significant increase in PSP officers, who are currently undergoing training.”
The Government remains committed to the measure, which reintroduces a specific unit within the PSP, following the dissolution of the Foreigners and Borders Service in 2023. Its functions were previously distributed among the PSP, GNR, PJ, and the newly established Agency for Integration, Migrations, and Asylum (AIMA), which was tasked with deportation, a system that, according to the Government, fails to operate efficiently and does not ensure the enforcement of expulsion orders for immigrants.
According to the Government, the new unit will serve as “a border police” to manage entry controls, monitor immigrants nationwide, and remove “those who do not comply with the rules.”
“There are foreigners who enter Portugal illegally and cannot remain; there are foreigners who, while on national territory, commit or have committed acts deemed by justice to warrant expulsion. However, in the competence limbo created by the prolonged abolition of SEF, these data have been disregarded as if they do not exist or are irrelevant,” noted the minister, who criticized the manner in which SEF was terminated.
