Portugal’s Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, firmly rejected a call to suspend family reunifications for immigrants, a suggestion made by the Chega party. He accused André Ventura’s party of seeking to create chaos for electoral gain.
During a parliamentary debate on changes to immigration laws, André Ventura urged the government to suspend family reunifications, comparing the situation to Austria and Germany.
“How are we going to limit family reunification? We should suspend it until we know what we have here,” expressed the Chega leader.
António Leitão Amaro responded by stating that Ventura referenced “undecided announcements in other countries to suspend family reunification requests for asylum cases,” which contradicts Portugal’s international commitments, and which Chega had not previously acknowledged.
The minister highlighted that Chega opposed the mission structure of the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA).
“You wanted chaos,” Leitão Amaro retorted to Ventura.
Ventura accused the government of being unwilling to halt what he described as a “cultural invasion,” particularly mentioning people from Islamic countries.
“We do not want more family reunifications because we don’t want anyone else in our country,” he stated.
Introducing the legislative proposal, Leitão Amaro noted that the change seeks to end the “seven years of uncontrolled immigration policy by PS governments,” characterized by “open doors, dismantled authorities, lax controls, and forgotten integration.”
The government’s proposal aims for a “regulated, firm, and humanistic immigration policy.”
He outlined that both the current and previous administrations of the AD have implemented essential measures to ensure controlled immigration and dignified reception, with policies that limit the CPLP channels, job search visas, family reunification, and last year’s exceptional transitional regime.
“These are balanced, constitutional measures that preserve the essentials. To welcome well, we must integrate those we have the capacity to receive,” Leitão Amaro stated.
Among the measures, the government emphasizes the need to “adjust the CPLP regime,” ending “residence authorizations for those who came with a tourist visa or visa exemption” and “imposing security controls and effective means of subsistence.”
Additionally, the legal changes aim to “limit job search visas, making them available only to highly qualified individuals,” and to impose new rules for family reunification, with a “minimum period of two years when reuniting adults,” he added.
