Migrants to start being detained in prefabs – Portugal Resident

The government will expand the capacity of existing immigrant detention centres to 300 places by the summer – adding ‘temporary modular constructions’ to current spaces, the assistant Secretary of State to the Presidency and for Immigration said today.

“The Ministry of Internal Affairs is working very quickly so that, in the coming months, we have the places we need” to meet the commitments of the European Pact on Migration and Asylum, Rui Armindo Freitas told Lusa.

“We need between 300 and 600 places, and the previous government left us with only 80 places” across two Temporary Installation Centres in Porto and Lisbon, he explained.

Thus “Internal Affairs is working very quickly to overcome this weakness in Portugal’s immigration system.”

Armindo Freitas added that temporary installation centres are fundamental to the “logic of return” – a decree the government intends to have approved by parliament soon.

Although plans previously existed to build new units, the projects remained stuck in the PRR (Plan for Recovery and Resilience), and local councils contested some of the proposed locations, he said. 

Consequently, the government intends to “reinforce existing units” to allow time for the later construction of new spaces.

“Internal Affairs is observing and analysing temporary solutions,” including “modular construction solutions,” he said, noting that the government will not wait for permanent buildings and will use transitional solutions to address the current reality. He also said the return process is ‘the final stage in completing Portugal’s reform of its migration system’. 

At this point, Armindo Freitas referred to the incident last summer, when a wooden boat arrived in the Algarve, carrying 36 Moroccans, all of whom were eventually released (to disappear from authorities’ radar) before a final return decision was made.

“Everyone knows exactly what weaknesses the country is facing”, and “we invite (to negotiate in parliament) all those who understand this or who feel able to stand alongside the government in this fundamental reform to ensure that Portugal has rules that work,” he said, adding (without naming the PS Socialist party) : “I perfectly understand that those responsible for the chaos we had in Portugal for many years now face greater difficulty in joining this reorganisation” of the sector.

Up until now, parliament has approved all migration law reforms with the support of the far-right rather than any parties of the left. However, Freitas reaffirmed the government’s openness to negotiating with all parties.

“When we say we need returns to remove those who do not meet the conditions to be here,” he said, “we are ensuring that everyone else who does meet those conditions receives the recognition to stay.” 

The new decree has faced criticism for reducing deadlines and appeal stages, thereby limiting a foreign citizen’s ability to defend themselves against the state – a criticism Freitas denies.

“Returns are fundamental in a migration system governed by entry, stay, and return,” he told Lusa, stressing that the new legislation is “fair and balanced” as it prohibits the expulsion of unaccompanied children.

The government aims to prevent a “circular regularisation phenomenon,” where parents regularise their status in Portugal through minors enrolled in the education system. Consequently, authorities will now assess families upon entry.

“Portuguese legislation includes brakes and safety valves, and autonomous coercive removals of children do not exist,” he promised, acknowledging, however, that removal orders may apply to minors when they arrive as part of a family that fails to meet the requirements to settle in Portugal.

Regarding the nationality law – currently approved by parliament and under review by the Constitutional Court and the President – Armindo Freitas said that the government simply wants an “immigration system that works, so that a foreign citizen never has to become a national citizen out of convenience.”

“Whoever becomes a national citizen must do so because they belong,” he said, adding that “to be Portuguese requires much more than just working in Portugal.”

Source: LUSA