The leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), Luís Montenegro, addressed an audience on Saturday at a rally in Paredes, located in the Porto district. During his speech, he tackled the topic of immigration, which has been a prominent issue following the government’s announcement regarding thousands of notifications to foreigners living illegally in Portugal, with over 4,500 cases already in progress.
In his address, Montenegro also touched upon economic issues and the significance of valuing work, emphasizing the rejection of an “open-door” immigration policy.
“Poverty is fought by creating wealth,” he asserted, advocating for not only retaining young people in the country but also attracting foreign labor. This, he argued, would enhance competitiveness and enable Portugal to become a productive economy that generates wealth.
“A year ago, we promised during the electoral campaign: ‘Portugal needs more human resources,'” he recalled, underscoring the importance of “dignity” in how newcomers are received.
Reflecting on the past year, Montenegro described the immigration sector in Portugal as being disordered, and he highlighted the party’s stance of wanting more regulation to allow for more humanistic approaches.
“For those who have forgotten: a year ago, we had 400,000 pending cases of people who had expressed interest in coming to Portugal,” he noted. He criticized the previous system: “Someone expresses interest, and the door opens automatically. Where are those people now? Why did they come? How were they integrated? The State knew nothing about it.”
Luís Montenegro accused the PS governments of a major oversight in immigration policy, describing it as “the great blackout that occurred in Portugal.”
He then sought to assure that, “Those who do not comply with the rules and are in Portugal illegally, we must ensure they return to their origin.”
“Regulation only exists if people feel that not following the rules has consequences. Conversely, if not adhering to the rules is the same as following them, as it has been in recent years, then everyone might as well not follow the rules, because the consequence is the same,” he explained.
Portuguese authorities estimate that there will be 1.6 million foreign residents in Portugal by 2024, according to an interim report on the recovery of pending cases in the Agency for Integration, Migration, and Asylum (AIMA) released in early April.
On Saturday, the government, represented by the Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, confirmed that AIMA is issuing 4,574 notifications for foreign nationals residing illegally in Portugal to leave the country, from an initial group of 18,000 denials already decided.
Following the situation, political parties criticized the government’s announcement, viewing it as a “campaign” and vote “competition” with the Chega party.
