The Agency for Integration, Migrations and Asylum (AIMA), the successor to Portugal’s Immigration and Border Service (SEF), is set to face the most significant test of its existence in 2024. The agency, which came into operation at the end of October 2023, has inherited a backlog of 350,000 pending cases.
The creation of AIMA was a result of merging part of the functions of the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) and the High Commission for Migrations. This move fulfilled an old promise from the PS, which advocated for the end of SEF. SEF’s powers were transferred to six organizations, with police functions passed to the PSP, GNR, and Judiciary Police.
The end of the government and the scheduling of elections in March have put the commitments of the socialist executive at risk. Every day, hundreds of requests for regularization enter a system that still fails to provide a sufficient response. Portugal is one of the few European countries that allows an irregular immigrant worker to apply for a visa at the national authorities. These are the cases that are clogging up the system.
To try to resolve the situation, the outgoing government promised to invest in modernizing the IT system. In the first quarter of 2024, the executive said it would launch an operation in conjunction with municipalities and immigrant support offices, with AIMA resources in citizen stores, to meet pending requests. The list of promises includes new programs teaching Portuguese to immigrants, a new quality telephone call centre, and a new multidisciplinary centre to manage international protection processes.
As AIMA braces for a challenging 2024, it remains to be seen how effectively it can navigate these hurdles and fulfil its promises. The agency’s performance will be crucial in shaping Portugal’s immigration policy and its approach to managing migration and asylum.
Source:theportugalnews.com