Migrations. Former minister Ana Catarina Mendes argues that it is necessary to give AIMA time – News

The delay in the legalization of migrants has been criticized by several associations, and on Monday, the Ombudsman, Ana Lúcia Amaral, also drew attention to the time that the processes of legalization of migrants are taking, especially after the extinction of the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF).

In an opinion article published today in the Público newspaper, Ana Catarina Mendes, who supervised the agency, highlights that six months after taking office, AIMA “has already done a lot”, but it is necessary to “give it time”.

He argues that it is necessary to “give time for the installation of AIMA to be completed, allowing us to conveniently test the solutions that AIMA has to offer to these problems is more sensible than going back, undoing what has been done, starting over from scratch” .

“Yes, AIMA did not do everything, there is a lot to be done – because what we wanted was much more than a change in procedures and administrative issues: what we wanted (and what is desired) is a paradigm shift”, he said.

The PS deputy states that the: “transition took place at a time when immigration is increasing and becoming more complex in Portugal and the public administration would be faced with a strong increase in demand, regardless of whether these administrative issues are managed by the former SEF or the recently created AIMA”.

In the article, Ana Catarina Mendes also highlights that the “inheritance was heavy”, with “almost 400 thousand pending issues that some, in the name of their retrogressive agenda, hide”.

“Calling political ineptitude to want a different vision, with AIMA as an expression of a country open to the world, will be left with whoever says so”, he highlighted.

The former minister highlights the importance of working towards the “objective of regular, orderly and safe migratory flows” and states that “this neither begins nor ends with what AIMA has in its hands”.

“To adapt the way Portugal views immigrants, it is also necessary to grant visas and residence permits, reducing their complexity, deadlines and procedures. It is necessary to simplify and shorten the procedures for renewing residence permits. It is necessary to adapt the consular network to this new reality”, she highlighted.

In Ana Catarina Mendes’ understanding, “making and unmaking public policies without testing and evaluating them has often impeded the country’s good governance”.

In an interview released on Monday by Rádio Renascença, the Ombudsman, Ana Lúcia Amaral, also drew attention to the time that the legalization processes for migrants are taking, especially after the extinction of the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF). ), and acknowledged that “things are not going well”.

Things “do not go well because the people who enter then need to have a residence permit and it takes a long time to obtain it, they do not go well because the residence permit has a deadline and needs to be renewed and the renewal of the residence permit residence is another nightmare,” he said.

Maria Lúcia Amaral recalled that the processes already took time when SEF was responsible and that now, with the competence “distributed among multiple entities”, the “maximum challenge” is being able to coordinate the entire process.

“When the public authorities of a State have dysfunctions of this nature, placing a large number of people in fragile situations in limbo, all kinds of dark businesses flourish or tend to flourish”, considered Maria Lúcia Amaral, referring to “ networks that use the vulnerability of these people, for example, to fill queues before the Portuguese authorities, on which the legalization of people depends”.