The Government approved on 19 March a new draft bill that reinforces and expedites the forceful removal of immigrants in an illegal situation. The initiative, presented by the Minister of the Presidency at the end of the Council of Ministers now goes to Parliament.

According to the Minister, this is a "very important" and "highly necessary reform", widely discussed in society and subject to public consultation, of which resulted more than a hundred inputs.

The draft bill introduces several significant amendments to the scheme currently in force:

• Eliminating the notification for voluntary withdrawal in order to increase efficacy and speed up the return procedure

• Prefer and encourage voluntary return, including the possibility of offering financial incentives

• Increasing the timeframes for detainment, from the current 60 days to up to 360 days under the ruling for forceful removal, with an additional 180 days to ensure the return is effectively carried out

• Impediment to use asylum requests as a means to remain in the country, enabling the asylum and removal procedures to advance simultaneously

• Strengthening law enforcement’s powers, centralising the return procedure within the PSP National Borders and Immigration Unit

• Introducing enforcement measures as alternatives to detainment, such as presenting travel papers or paying a deposit, keeping detainment as a measure of last resort, yet with a wider framework

• Revision of the criteria that impede expulsion, requiring an effective tie to the country

• Broadening the timeframes to interdict entry into national soil following forceful removal.

António Leitão Amaro stressed that a "regulated and humane" immigration policy implies making a distinction between those who enter on legal terms and those who chose to do so illegally or are taken by illegal immigration networks. For these situations, he stated, we must guarantee "a quicker removal".

The Minister recalled the episode that took place last summer when 38 Moroccan citizens were detained after disembarking illegally in Portugal, "proof that this law is necessary". To delay their removal, they filed asylum requests, decided on by the Immigration Agency within seven days, and then appealed the decisions, delaying the process; they ended up being released due to being detained for the maximum period of time set.

According to António Leitão Amaro, the previous law, even in cases where security was at stake did not enable to maintain the detainment or execute the expulsion. "Portugal was one of the European countries with the lowest expulsion rates, lower than 5% of illegal immigrants", he noted. "There is no point in having border controls and checks if when illegal situations are detected, there are no consequences to be had."

The Minister concluded by stating that reinforcing forceful removals is essential "to value those who come legally, integrate those who follow the rules, make the immigration system credible, and end the illegal networks that exploit people".