Government guarantees “rigorous evaluation” of the extinction of the SEF | Immigration

The extinction of the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) in October 2023 will even be the subject of a “rigorous evaluation”, the Minister of Internal Administration reiterated today, in line with the Government program proposal.

Margarida Blasco was speaking at the ceremony marking the 113th anniversary of the National Republican Guard (GNR), in Lisbon, where she addressed the role of the GNR in the security of national and European borders and the reinforcement of the institution’s responsibility in this matter, after the restructuring of the security system. internal security that led to the process of extinguishing the SEF.

“A process in which the Government intends to carry out a rigorous assessment, to identify and correct legal non-conformities, operational failures and areas of conflict of competences”, summarized the minister.

According to the Minister of Internal Administration, the prevention of cross-border crimes and the control of irregular immigration flows must lead to “the promotion of regulated, humanistic, dignified and constructive immigration, which allows for the sustainable development of Portugal, implementing integration measures that respect their fundamental rights.”

“To this end, it is necessary to consider the security dimension and prevent these immigrants from becoming victims of exploitation by illegal and criminal networks”, he continued.

The previous socialist executive ended the SEF, which was extinguished on October 29, 2023, passing the police powers of this security service to the PSP, GNR and Judiciary Police (PJ).

Functions in administrative matters related to immigrants are transferred to the new agency and to the Institute of Registries and Notaries (IRN), and the Borders and Foreigners Coordination Unit was also created, which operates under the authority of the secretary general of the System of Homeland Security.

The Agency for Integration, Migrations and Asylum (AIMA), which deals with the regularization and integration of immigrants in Portugal, also took over the powers of the extinct High Commission for Migrations.