Dreams dashed: Mozambicans deported from Portugal en masse

The measure covers mostly immigrants from the CPLP and may be being carried out to contain the social chaos that is taking hold in Portugal, a country where immigrants make up around 10% of the population.

The inspection covers citizens who do not have the minimum conditions to stay in that European country, which include, among other things, work and housing

In Portugal, according to official estimates from 2023, there were more than 10,000 people living on the streets of cities, in a situation that involves thousands of citizens from different countries, including Latin America and Africa, who are unable to secure access to shelter.

In the light of this major operation carried out by the National Republican Guard (GNR), at least 600 immigrants were covered, with those in the most precarious situations being returned to their countries of origin.

For those whose housing conditions were favorable to living in Portugal, but whose visas had expired, fines ranging from 60 to 160 euros were imposed, in an action that the GNR says will continue.

TORRE.News understands from a source in Portugal that the deportees include an unspecified number of Mozambicans, who were presumably homeless or without work visas or any other visa allowing them to stay in the country.

According to the same source, some citizens, who are in that country illegally, choose to look for ways to return on their own because, once affected by the campaign, the authorities do not allow foreigners to leave with any belongings.

There are also reports of Mozambican women who sold their properties in Mozambique in the hope of building a life in Portugal, but the economic situation in that country did not favor them and they had to get involved in prostitution and homelessness.

In fact, housing in Portugal is a scenario that has exceeded the capabilities of the National Strategy for the Integration of the Homeless, a mechanism created in 2017, which has failed to provide adequate responses to the scenario, partly due to the economic situation of what is the lowest economy in Europe.

However, in terms of restrictive measures, Portugal has decided to abolish obtaining a visa for immigrants through an expression of interest (a measure in force since 2017). According to the new rules, announced last June, only those with an employment contract can obtain a work visa.

But even so, due to the low level of opportunities, especially in African countries such as Mozambique and Angola, citizens continue to see Portugal as an entry point to Europe and as a solution to unemployment problems.

This scenario is evidenced by data from the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) which, at the end of 2023 alone, registered around 300,000 new immigrants, in a scenario in which the number is on an upward trend.

It is estimated that around a thousand new visa applications are legalized every day, especially in some PALOP countries - Portuguese-speaking countries. This growth is a phenomenon that has already been criticized by André Ventura's party, Chega - a radical right-wing party.

The regularization of immigration in Portugal, a situation about which the Council of Europe has also expressed concern, emerged as a solution from the ruling party in Portugal to respond to the lack of jobs, although for some analysts it has been a mechanism for collecting more taxes to support the pension service.