Portugal expelled 18,000 foreigners. Its prime minister says it has nothing to do with the election – or Trump
A minister said in a national election on Saturday that the caretaker government in Portugal plans to expel about 18,000 foreigners without authorization.
President António Leitão Amaro said on Saturday that the center-right government will send about 18,000 notices to people who have left the country illegally. The minister said officials will start next week and require about 4,500 foreigners to leave voluntarily within 20 days.
According to the Portuguese Resident News website, immigration will begin to receive the first batch of notifications today. The website quotes the report that if they do not comply, “they will be bound by the eviction process.”
On Monday, news website Portugal News reported that the integration, immigration and asylum agency (AIMA) has begun the process.
On Sunday, the Portuguese Pulse news website reported that Prime Minister Luis Montenegro denied that the program was accelerating the May 18 election and said it was part of a process that began last June.
He also refuted opposition criticism of his campaign’s “trump card”, a reference to U.S. President Donald Trump’s border crackdown.
“It's not about forcibly deleting someone. It's about notifying the person and being able to appeal. If they can't meet the requirements, they have to leave.”
Right
Portugal has a population of about 10.6 million and has been a series of minority governments in recent years, traditional power rivals, center-right Social Democrats and middle-level socialists, losing votes for smaller parties in the growing world.
One of these political parties is the chega party, Magazine Humanities and Social Sciences Communication Notes are often tagged as “because of its policy and rhetoric, its right populist party. It advocates an anti-immigration stance with particular emphasis on reducing illegal immigration and strengthening border security.”
The country is trapped in the rising trend of European populism. In last year's general election, the Chai Wu Party soared to third place.
“These results confirm the success of radical populist scripts, including “opposition to immigration,” Filipe Calvão, associate professor of anthropology and sociology at the University of Chicago, wrote on the website of the Geneva Graduate Institute last year.
Portugal will hold a general election on May 18. Montenegro, after he led a minority government led by his conservative Social Democratic Party, called it the SNAP vote in March, lost confidence in the vote in parliament and stood down.
Anti-immigration sentiment
The Portuguese center-right government has strengthened some immigration rules over the past year, reflecting attempts elsewhere in Europe to resist the rise of the far right.
One of the restrictions last year was to prohibit the use of a mechanism called “performance of interest”, which for many years allowed non-EU immigrants without employment contracts to move to Portugal and demand a right of residence one year after paying for Social Security.
The telegraph reported that the surge in “digital nomads” has prompted a larger rebound in immigration due to rising housing and living costs. According to Fortune, house prices in the capital Lisbon have risen 30% over the past five years.
Last month, Portuguese riot police detained several super-right protesters after clashes in the heart of Lisbon, a celebration of the 51st anniversary of the Carnation Revolution, which ended the fascist dictatorship.
Extreme right-wing groups such as Ergue-Te (Rise Up), habeas orders and Grupo 1143 have called for a rally that was banned to protest against growing immigrants ahead of parliamentary elections.
About 1.5 million immigrants live in Portugal, about three times the number ten years ago. According to data from the overall Human Development website, traditionally most immigrants came from countries that talk about Portugal, such as Brazil, Cape Verde and Angola.
Brazil, India and Italy are the top three nationalities for new immigrants in Portugal in 2022, while in 2023, the number of first asylum applicants increased by 31%. The OECD reported that the majority of applicants are from Gambia, Afghanistan and Colombia.
Reuters reported that about 14% of taxpayers are immigrants, contributing more than 1.6 billion euros ($2.5 billion in CDN) to the economy in 2022, while receiving approximately 257 million euros ($401 million in CDN) social benefits.
The alternative to Germany (AFD) will of course become the second largest player in the country's parliamentary election. CBC's Margaret Evans breaks down the big gains that social media and influencers have helped far-right parties and young voters make.
