Eliminate the 20-day period for immigrants to appeal the decision or voluntarily leave the country, proceed directly to coercive removal, increase the period of detention for foreigners to up to 540 days and establish in law that judicial appeal does not suspend the removal decision. These are some of the measures proposed by the Government to speed up the deportation of irregular immigrants.
The document will be put up for public consultation this afternoon, December 5th. The DN found that the objective of these changes is based on four essential axes: a “clear distinction between those who have the right to remain and those who do not meet the legal requirements”, the promotion of an “effective, rapid and fair removal, combating legal abuses and networks of illegal immigration and human trafficking”, the reinforcement of procedural agility and the “strengthening of the international protection system”, with a view to “combating situations of abuse of the asylum figure”.
As the newspaper had anticipated in May, some of these proposals result from the recommendations of a working group created by the Government. After the approval of the Foreigners Law and the Nationality Law, the third stage of the review of migration policies in Portugal has now arrived. Minister António Leitão Amaro classified this proposal as “the last major piece of legislation in the reform of migration policy”.
Among the measures, we highlight the increase in the detention period for removal from national territory from 60 to 180 days, with the possibility of extension for another 180 days and, subsequently, another 180 days. In total, immigrants who decide to leave the country may remain detained for up to 540 days, the equivalent of 18 months. According to the document, these deadlines are “in line with the European legal framework and with the recommendations of the last Schengen evaluation”.
At the same time, it is suggested to apply alternative measures to detention, such as bail or delivery of a travel document, reserving deprivation of liberty as a last resort. There will also be changes to the criteria for analyzing expulsion from national territory, including the “effective and solid connection of the foreign citizen to the country”, currently provided for in the law. The document gives as an example that the simple fact of being born in Portugal will no longer be enough to prevent expulsion, and it will also be necessary to reside in the country for the last five years.
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amanda.lima@dn.pt