Just like the Public Security Police (PSP), the National Republican Guard (GNR) has intensified its inspection of immigrants in Portugal. According to a statement from GNR, an inspection action at a factory resulted in nine notices of voluntary abandonment and five arrests.
“As part of the planning of inspection operations aimed at foreign citizens in Portugal, the Guard soldiers carried out an inspection action at a food production company. During the operation, 92 foreign citizens were inspected”, highlights the GNR statement.
The operation was carried out in Alcobaça, by the Santarém Territorial Immigration Inspection Center. The citizens were detained for “illegal stay in national territory and identity theft”. Taken to court, the five immigrants were ordered to be taken to a Temporary Installation Center (CIT).
Os The military also issued ten administrative offense notices, nine of which were for excessive stay in national territory and one for use by workers without valid documents.
Increased supervision and change in the law
The Government should present, in the next few days, a bill to Parliament to speed up the deportations of immigrants. At the same time, minister António Leitão Amaro recently stated that “there is a strategic determination to reinforce inspection” of immigrants, in places such as airports.
In the case of GNR, as it operates more inland, inspections usually take place in workplaces, such as factories, businesses and agricultural fields. In the case of PSP, in addition to airports, there are actions at public transport exits and in other locations.
About “return package”, several changes are planned, such as the end of the initial period of 20 days for the person to leave the country voluntarily. This same 20-day period is “repeated” in the coercive abandonment phase, which is why the government intends to extinguish it.
There will now be “a duty to abandon that falls on the citizen, instead of an obligation to notify the authorities”. This measure applies to cases such as the rejection of a request to remain or the non-granting/renewal of residence — this being the case of more than 20 thousand immigrants currently in the country. In cases of illegal stay, coercive removal is applied immediately.
amanda.lima@dn.pt
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