Portugal’s government will establish a new Public Security Police (PSP) unit responsible for returning migrants in the country who have no right to stay, it announced.
This new police section, which will be called the National Foreigners and Borders Unit, will be charged with strengthening existing checks against illegal immigration and would oversee Portugal’s air border controls.
Together with the National Republican Guard (GNR), the new unit will conduct immigration inspections across the country and deport migrants in the country without proper authorisation.
Minister António Leitão Amaro, announcing the initiative September 26, said it was aimed at addressing the previous administration’s failures.
The bill, which the government will introduce in Parliament in the coming weeks, was intended to “correct one of the tragic mistakes of the previous government,” the 2023 closure of the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF).
That service was replaced by an Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA).
Casa do Brasil de Lisboa, a Portuguese immigration non-profit, expressed its “total and absolute” opposition to the new unit, calling it “an unequivocal setback” for immigration policy and integration efforts. “This measure represents an unequivocal setback in immigration policies and the integration of the immigrants in Portugal,” it said.
As well as the new police unit, the government announced other measures to enhance border security, including collecting biometric and personal data from individuals entering Portugal from outside the Schengen Area.
The measures also include stricter checks at air borders, the main entry point for non-EU citizens.
Portugal’s government launched a new immigration policy in June. It said the policy would aim at regulating immigration, attracting foreign talent, improving integration, and restructuring institutions handling immigration.
Portugal was among several European nations currently pledging to take a tougher stance on immigration. Sweden’s government has proposed offering a relocation grant to migrants wanting to return to their home country, as part of its upcoming autumn budget.
The Swedish Government has proposed a relocation grant of up to 350,000 krona (€30,000) for each migrant who wishes to return to their home country as part of the upcoming autumn budget. https://t.co/tOqMplvF1o
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) September 13, 2024
